Attendees

NICW

Dr David Clubb, Chair

Helen Armstrong, Commissioner

Dr Eurgain Powell, Commissioner

Steve Brooks, Commissioner (Online)

Eluned Parrott Commissioner (Online)

Nick Tune, Commissioner

Secretariat/Welsh Government
Stuart Ingram, NICW Secretariat

Brunel University (NICW Discussion Item only)

Simon Roberts

Colin Axon

Apologies

Dr Jenifer Baxter, Deputy Chair

Aleena Khan, Commissioner

Nicola Britton, NICW Secretariat

Welcome and declarations of interest

The Chair welcomed Commissioners to the meeting with a check-in and celebration of success.

Commissioners reflected on a productive week for NICW including attendance at the CCEI and Flood Committees as well as a successful event as part of the Year 3 project in Grangetown.

Declarations of Interest

The Chair declared that he is working on a social impact assessment for Keep Wales Tiday; and identifying organisations that aim to widen participation in Boards for Welsh Government.

He also mentioned a potential conflict as a result of a public engagement contract his consultancy firm is bidding for. The register would need to be updated if this bid was successful.

Housekeeping

Notes of Previous Meeting

Minutes of the previous meeting were approved.

Invitations to Events The Chair has been invited to attend the opening of the Wales office of Ofwat on 4^th March. Eurgain Powell has been invited to judge the Wales Infrastructure Project awards from Construction Excellence Wales. She cannot undertake this and offered it to other Commissioners

Work Programme and Budget Report Discussion

Following the outcome of the NICW review, a new expanded Work Programme report and budget report was circulated to Commissioners to allow them to receive a written update and facilitate more discussion at NICW meetings. The specific areas were discussed in relation to the report:

Year 1 – Renewable Energy

It was noted that a National Infrastructure Commission (UK) report on Grid was being published on the day of the NICW meeting.

Year 2 – Flooding

The evidence session with the CCEI Committee which Eurgain Powell and Eluned Parrott took part in the previous day was discussed.

It was agreed that Transport for Wales would be approached to take on stewardship of the Prith B Painting ‘The River’ to be displayed in their headquarters building.

Year 3 – Climate Conversations

SOIF have concluded the community engagement work with the 3 partner organisations in Grangetown. The report writing is currently running to schedule. Continuing the programme of activity in Grangetown was discussed, including training in facilitation skills for the community groups, twinning Grangetown with another area in Wales and integrating the groups in a more coherent way. It was commented that NICW must be mindful of its remit in this respect. This would be discussed in more detail at the planning session on 14^th March, as well as a session with the Grangetown community themselves on 7^th March.

Transport Futures Event

The Transport Futures events were discussed, and it was concluded that more guidance would be needed to achieve what the project was initially set up to achieve, particularly on the mapping / GIS side. It was recommended that Paul Chase from TfW and Glen Lyons from Mott MacDonald be engaged with for further insight.

Risk Register

Following the outcome of the NICW review a new monthly agenda item on the risk register was discussed. This month the risk identified was on Succession Planning.

It was noted that the future of the Commission was a decision for Welsh Ministers and not NICW itself. However, NICW can discuss the desirability of Commissioners to continue in their role and aid in the transition process. Following recent conversations, it is likely that Commissioners may be invited to remain in post until the summer of 2026, after the Senedd elections, and for a new Government to confirm future arrangements. The Chair will continue to have ownership of this Risk in the meantime and liaise with Secretariat where appropriate.

Daily rates for Commissioners were discussed and investigations on comparable posts would take place to inform the next Commission.

NICW Meeting Terms of Reference

Following the outcome of the NICW review a draft Terms of Reference for NICW meetings was circulated with the meeting papers. Minor comments were received from Commissioners. A revised version of the document would be circulated for final comment before publication on the NICW website.

NICW Communications Support

The suite of draft Communications Strategy documents from Equinox were discussed (in addition to a separate meeting held on 17^th February) it was agreed that Steve Brooks would lead work to produce a shorter, more consolidated version with Aleena Khan and Jen Baxter. Feedback would be provided to Equinox, and the issue would be discussed again at the planning session on 14^th March.

Nature on NICW

Simeon Rose has been engaged to produce a written piece to make the case for Nature on the Board for NICW and other Welsh Public Bodies.

This work will be used to inform representations to Welsh Government on taking this issue forward. We are also engaging with an academic from Aberystwyth University to make the case in terms of Wales’ cultural heritage.

NICW Review and Annual CCEI Scrutiny Session

A response to the Cabinet Secretary on the NICW Review was discussed and agreed for issue.

A video of the annual scrutiny session would be circulated to Commissioners.

Planning Session for Year 4 / Legacy

The content for the NICW Planning session in Newport on 14^th March was discussed. The following topics were listed as key for discussion:

• Our relationship with other organisations
• Communications
• Personal reflections to inform an ‘end of term’ report.
• Year 3 / Grangetown legacy work
• Commissioner futures
• Monitoring our reports

Monthly NICW Discussion

Simon Roberts and Colin Axon from Brunel University joined the meeting to present their paper, “What price near-zero emissions?”, at the meeting.
Energy and economic modelling for the UK using real-world data to 2050 and beyond

Simon and Roberts presented the implications for Wales’ infrastructure with reference to Wales’ port infrastructure and the potential future use of ammonia.

Commissioners discussed the implications of this research, including the economic opportunities to Wales, as well as the potential risks associated with sea level rise. Consideration would be given to writing a blog post associated with this work.

It was agreed that the discussion session next month could be on Transport Futures or the funding of Infrastructure. This would be confirmed in due course.

AOB

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