Meeting Note 30 January 2026

NICW Dr David Clubb, Chair Helen Armstrong, Commissioner Nick Tune, Commissioner Dr Eurgain Powell, Commissioner Eluned Parrott, Commissioner Elspeth Jones, NICW Nature Guardian   Programme Office / Welsh Government Stuart Ingram, NICW Programme Office

Apologies Dr Jenifer Baxter, Deputy Chair Aleena Khan, Commissioner Nicola Britton, NICW Programme Office

Welcome

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

• Celebrations of Success

The nature guardian event last week was noted as a success as well as Elspeth’s talk to NRW the previous day.

• Declarations of Interest

No new declarations were received.

• Notes from previous meeting

The notes from the previous meeting were agreed, unchanged.

• Invitations to events

The Chair offered two events open to Commissioners: A Mineral Products Association (MPA) event on 06/03/26, and Climate Smart Land Use for Sustainable Flod Resilience on 04/02/26. DC would share information with interested Commissioners.

NT fed back from an OFWAT event on 29/01/26 in relation to strategic planning of assets for water supply side issues.

EPo has received an invitation for WTW for webinars on various environmental issues. EPo will attend to brief on NICWs flooding work.

EJ has received an invitation to appear on a podcast in relation to our Nature on the Board work as well as writing an op-ed piece for an engineering journal.

Action: DC to share event information with interested Commissioners

• Risk register: risk of the month – reputational risk

Reflection on previous instances of complaints against a Commissioner in terms of a conflict of interest. These were unfounded. It was noted that NICW is very transparent with a regular reminder of NICW values. NICW is compliant and has implemented the recommendations of the WG review. 

• Work Programme

The Work Programme report and budget report was circulated to Commissioners in advance.  The following specific areas were discussed in relation to the report:

Year 1 Renewable Energy Report

No more work is progressing on this until after the election. This will be picked up again once a new Government in place.

Year 2 Flooding

Evidence has recently been given to the Senedd on this. It was noted that Roisin Willmott has been appointed as the new Chair of the Flood Committee. The Chair will be meeting with Roisin shortly.

EPo reported that following a meeting with WG flood officials in December, that WG will be making a written statement on flooding in March. A Green Paper following the Cunliffe Review will also be published shortly. It was suggested that NICW write to the new NRW Chair regarding the flooding report to ensure the recommendations are still on the radar.

Action: Letter to NRW Chair to be written.

Year 3 Climate Change Adaptation Communication

It was noted that the toolkit was being extensively used, including by Welsh Government.

A meeting on the NICW report was held with WG officials the previous day. This was a positive meeting, although it was noted there was variance in the contributions of some officials. It was reinforced how the response should delve beneath the headlines and not necessarily look at the specific mechanisms NICW has highlighted, but think about the overall aims of the recommendations.

HA fed back on the Grangetown legacy work, including a training event Helen had attended with SEF Cymru on use of the toolkit.

All 3 organisations are progressing their work well for us, under the guidance of Russell Todd.

Year 4 – Infrastructure Assessment

Draft reports and executive summaries have been issued to stakeholders for comment. SI will ensure Commissioners get these. These will be issued to the March event attendees in advance. It was emphasised that these are ‘state of play’ documents and the NICW opinion on the outcomes would follow.

Year 4 – Infrastructure Delivery Research

Draft report presentation has been circulated for comment by Commissioners. NT reiterated comments on the need for SMART outcomes / recommendations. EJ queried the role of nature in the discussions, particularly over the M4 relief road scheme, and the importance that was attached to these alongside budgetary issues.

Nature on the Board Event

Positive feedback was received on the Nature on the Board event. It was agreed that Landed Futures had done an excellent job in making it an immersive experience which enthused and excited all that attended. Potential for a network of Nature Guardian’s was discussed. Continuing NICWs work in this area was discussed, including representation on NICW after the Senedd election.

It was discussed how NICW spreads the message to other public bodies.

Infrastructure Symposium – 23^rd March 2026

This event is being co-ordinated by Cazbah. A revised agenda has been circulated to Commissioners. Comments were made about having a more interactive experience for attendees.

Budget

It was noted that the budget for 2025/26 was now forecast to be spent in its entirety.

• Commissioner Updates

NT updated the meeting on the Crown Estates Welsh representative application process.

• Non-work programme related issues

None

Regulatory Landscape in Wales

The meeting was joined by Owen Derbyshire, Chair of Dwr Cymru Independent Challenge Group.

A discussion was held on the scrutiny of water companies and the role of the new water regulator, with more details being announced by the Welsh Government shortly. It was noted that NICW had recommended a new Water Commissioner in its flooding report. Ways in which NICW could work together with IGC, including using NICWs work programme for the new Senedd term to progress things, were discussed. A discussion with NRW was suggested.

Action: NICW will reflect on the Green Paper when published by Welsh Government and discuss future work on this issue.

Reflections Day Report

The report was welcomed and a discussion was had on how it can be used to inform NICWs next steps. It was refreshing to read about the NICW story as an evaluative process, rather than simply relying on KPIs.  It was agreed to publish the report on the website with an accompanying blog post to expand the learning.

Action: DC to publish blog post of Reflection Day / Report

Planning for 2026

The Chair asked Commissioners about their future plans. It was discussed that the next Government would be crucial in these deliberations. The terms and conditions of Commissioners was also discussed, including time allocations.

The Commission would need to pick up on the outcomes of the current Arup and Arcadis reports as well as the messages coming out of the event in March.

As well as the water sector, previously discussed. Collaboration with other bodies and stakeholders was raised. Looking at the infrastructure ‘system’ of Wales (including nature) and improving relations with civil servants. Cultural and nature as infrastructure was also explored.

Action: DC to get in touch with Public Appointments Wales about those who are standing down and confirm Commissioners intentions around extending their terms.

Final Nature Guardian Session

The chair thanked EJ for her work and time on the Commission. EJ reflected on her time with NICW and the learning curve and opportunity it had been. It had been refreshing to work with a diverse group of people and thanked the Commissioners for supporting her. It was hoped that the role will continue in the new Senedd term.

AOB

None

The next meeting will take place in Bute Park on 27^th February 2026.