Political . Condemnation
. Proposals Chris Evans MP
House of Commons Ga Woodfieldside Business Park London Penmaen Road SWlA OAA Pontllanfraith m Blackwood Gwent NP12 2DG
Tel: 01495231990 Email: [email protected] Website: www.chrisevansmp.com
22 August 2018
Our Ref: JL/CE15001
Mr Andy Nicholson Combermere Cottage Old Wodhouse Nr Whitchurch Shropshire SY13 4EH *
- Dear Mi Nicholson;
17,K , 6,--'' Thank you for contacting me about Natural Resources Wales and the problems you * have been experiencing. I have to tell you I have been inundated with emails; telephone calls and messages after having called for a public enquiry into the way NRW is conducting itself. .
I have written to Lesley Griffiths AM and no public enquiry has been forthcoming yet. if I do not receive a response, you can rest assured I will be asking to·meet with Ms Griffiths face to face to discuss the issues you and others have raised, regarding NRW.
I think now, more than ever, trust in NRW is at an all-time low and something needs, to be done.
Thank you once again for writing to me with your concerns.
Yours sincerely,
l.
Chris Evans MP
Acopy of my privacy, notice can be found at www.chrisevansmp.com/privacy
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CAERDYDD / CARDIFF, CF99 1NA Cynulliad National Cenedlaethol Assembly for nnru Wales
Thank you Andy - well done you! Onwards! Christine Christine Hamilton PA to NEIL HAMILTON AM Mid & West Wales Assembly Office: 0300 200 7422 Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru / National Assembly for Wales Bae Caerdydd / Cardiff Bay . CAERDYDD / CARI)IFF, CF99 1NA Cynulliad National Cenedlaethol Assembly for mru Wales
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UKIP FOR THE NATION
WALES/CYMRU
{ Press release
Wednesday February 142018 . UKIP Wales Leader Neil Hamilton stands up for Anglers in Wales , Today in the National Assembly for Wales, UKIP Wales Leader, Neil Hamilton, stood up for anglers. In the face of "draconian" proposals by Natural Resources Wales (NRW),fishermen throughout Wales face a 10 year ban on taking their catch home.
In a2016 assessment of the salmon population, it was found that 21 out of 23 rivers in Wales are failing to reach fish stock targets.NRW appear to be blaming anglers for the depletion of stocks and recommends the 10 year mandatory catch and release policy. This, ' coupled with further proposals on the method of fishing, could sound the death knell for anglingin Wales.
The UKIP Wales Leaderaddressed a number of reasons for the depletion of fish stocks and attacked the NRW's proposals.He Joined with anglers, calling for the abandonment of the mandatory catch and release proposal which would damage an industry worth £15Om to the Welsh economy.
Mr Hamilton argued that sewage pollution, poorly located hydroelectric projects, slurry spills and the predation of salmon and sea trout by fish-eating birds are responsible for the decline in fish stocks. UKIP believes NRW's proposals should reflect this, rather than punishing fishermen, and, as a consequence, dissuading visiting anglers who make a valuable contribution toWales' tourism industry.
, Neil Hamilton commented:
"Rather than picking on anglers, the NRW should take a look at increased levels of river pollution and hydroelectric projects which have killed stocks and disrupted migration patterns. Taking home one's catch is an integral part of the enjoyment of the sport of angling. Most anglers voluntarily release their catch, so the proposals would have little effect on fish stocks and would severely threaten the future of angling.NRW must avoid 1 <
top heavy regulation and, instead, formulate a coherent strategy with anglers - the custodians of Wales' rivers."
END
1
1 Contact.
Kris Hicks
1 Head of Communications
'UKIP Waies .
t
. From: Davies, Andrew RT(Aelod Cynulliad I Assembly Member) [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 13 February 2018 14:46 To: Andy Nicholson Subject: RE: January Board Meeting in Public reply, reply
Dear Andy
Many thanks for your furtheremail and apologies for my delayed response.
First of all I am delighted to read you had such a fantastic time in Zanzibar. lam incredibly grateful for your time in writing this email and note all of the points you have so clearly presented.
I hope you don't mind but in order to ensure its content is put to the best possible use I forwarded the main body of your email onto my team of researchers whose portfolios include angling and tourism.
This will be very helpful as we scrutinise policy going forward and will provide them with an 'insiders' point of view. if have any updates or progress on this Issue, I will be sure to notify you of them and would be grateful to receive any comments you may have.
Thank you once again for taking the time to provide this information and if there is anything further you should wish to discuss, please do not hesitate to drop me a line.
All the very best,
Andrew
Andrew RT Davies AM I Leader of the Welsh Conservatives I South Wales Central Regional AM @AndrewRTDavies I www.andrewrtdavies.co.uk
. Abolish Natura Resources Wales, say Welsh Conservatives - BBC News 01/1212018
, I Abolish Natural Resources Wales, say Welsh Conservatives
27 November 2018
GETTY IMAGES
Environmental body Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is "largely incompetent" and should be split up, the Welsh Conservatives have said.
NRW was set up from a merger of three quangos in 2013 but has faced criticism over repeatedly selling timber without going to the open market.
Tory AM Andrew RT Davies says his party would split NRW into two.
NRW chief executive Clare Piliman said staff have demonstrated their commitment "to do the right thing".
And the Welsh Government said changes in personnel would allow the body to continue to "build its important role'.
What went on in NRW? s Taxpayerleft £lm short on timber deals
m Welsh timber scandal inexplicable say AMs
"It's been clear for some time that NRW is no longer fit for purpose and that the Welsh public has lost faith in the organisation," said Mr Davies, who is the Welsh Conservative environmental and rural affairs spokesman.
"As part of our exciting vision for Wales post-Brexit, we'd scrap this bloated and largely incompetent quango and ensure the regulatory and commercial duties were carried out separately and effectively.
"Brexit provides us with the chance to do things differently and Welsh Conservatives will use this freedom to reset tile environmental protection, regulation and maintenance of natural resources throughout Wales."
'Heroic job'
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htlps:#nww.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-46347477 1 01/12/2018 Abolish Natural Resources Wales, say Welsh Conservatives - BBC News But Plaid Cymru agriculture spokesman and North Wales AM Llyr Gruffydd said Mr Davies was wrong'[o say NRW was largely incompetent, but said it did not have the resources to do its job.
"I don't think abolishing NRW at the moment would help. With the instability and insecurity that we have at the moment coming from Brexit... I think the last thing we need is organisational change at this particular time.
"They have seen a 35% real terms cut if you compare their budget when they were established to now. In the means time they have had additional duties placed upon them," he said. "It is unsustainable."
"1 think many of the people who are working for NRW are doing a heroic job under very very difficult circumstances," he added.
What is NRW?
NRW was formed by the Welsh Government from the Countryside Council for Wales, which was responsible for conservation, the Environment Agency Wales, which looked after flooding, pollution and regulating power plants: and the Forestry Commission, which managed tree planting and selling timber.
1 2017, auditors criticised the organisation's accounts, raising concerns over timber sales to a saw mill firm that had not been tendered on the open market.
Despite the concerns, months later NRW repeated the failure, leading to the resignation of the organisation's chairwoman Diane McCrea.
The scandal lost the taxpayer at least £1 m.
214 1 https://www.bbc.Go.uk/news/uk-wales-politics46347477 01/12/2018 Abolish Natural Resources W:!es, say Welsh Conservatives - BBC News
Ms Pillman, who took over ,after Emyr Roberts retired last year, told the assembly Public Accounts Committee the sales were the result of incompetence, not corruption.
*ut the same committee said incompetence could not explain what happened, and that the failures were Inexplicable".
The Welsh Government said the merger could save taxpayers £158m over 10 years.
A staff survey revealed in 2016 that only 10%_of employees in the organisation felt it was well managed.
The Tories' alternative would be to set up one body to deal with NRWs "regulatory duties" and another to deal with its commercial aspects - such as selling timber.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: "We are aware of the recent issues at NRW and a new interim chair [Sir David Hensnaw] and board members have been appointed :o oversee the improvements needed at the organisation.
"These changes will allow NRW to continue to build its important role in protecting and enhancing the environment in Wales."
As Pillman added: "While we acknowledge that there are things whict need to improve, our staff have demonstrated their commitment and expertise to do the right thing for Wales, its environment and its communities.
"Ir the last five years, we have brought the work and responsibilities of:hree organisations into one and are on course to deliver£17lm of savings to Wales ahead of our 10-year target of £158m."
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Incompetence does not explain timber sales scandal say AMs https//www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk.wales-politics-46347477 314 01/12/2018 Abolish Natural Resources Wales, say Welsh Conservatives - BBC News , I -3. 26 November 2018 Natural Resources Wales seems'out of control*, says AM 18 July 2018 Natural Resources Wales timber sales criticised by watchdog again 16 July 2018 £39m timber deal was an extraordinary error, say AMs
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-3 01/12/2018 Ministers' confidence in under-fire Natura[ Resources Wales - BBC News i . Ministers' confidence in under=fire Natural Resources Wales
28 November 2018
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Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has the confidence of the Welsh Government, the environment secretary has said.
Lesley Griffiths rejected calls for the organisation to be scrapped following a timber sales debacle.
She said recent appointees were best placec to oversee improvements to the environmental agency.
The Welsh Conservative's Andrew RT Davies said the sector had lost confidence in NRW and it should be abolished.
His call came after a highly critical Public Accounts Committee report into the repeated sale of timber without going to the open market.
le committee said that incompetence could not alone explain what happened.
In a response to a question from Mr Davies, Ms Griffiths said the report makes "uncomfortable reading".
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https://www.bbc.co.uklnews/uk-wales-politics-46372452 1/3
-j 01/12/2018 Ministers' confidence in under-fire Natural Resources Wales - BBC News the o¢itlined the appointments of a new chief executive Clare Piliman in February 2018, an interim chair on 1 November and new board members the same month.
'They are best placed to oversee the improvements needed to ensure mistakes are not repeated. They have my full confidence," she said.
There gets to a point that you really have to call time on these things," he said.
"From the sector itself the confidence is just not there to see this organisation through to actually what it was intended to do, to be a guardian of the environment."
• Taxpayer left £lm_short on timber deals
• What went on in NRW?
But Ms Griffiths replied: "You have to recognise, and you clearly don't in your question, the excellent work that staff do."
Plaid Cymru's Llyr Gruffydd said scrapping the organisation is not the answer. "It won't help."
ut he expressed concerns over the resources available to the organisation, saying it had faced real- terms cuts of 35% since it was set up in 2013.
'At what point does Natural Resources Wales grind to a dysfunctional halt," he said.
Neil Hamilton, UKIP AM, said Ms Pillman was a "vast improvement on her predecessor".
But he asked if there was an argument for the separating out of the commercial functions of NRW.
Ms Griffiths said she had spoken to the chief executive about it, but she did not think that should be done at the current time.
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-46372452 2/3 A 01/12/2018 Ministers' confidence in under-fire Natural Resources Wales - BBC News < f,82*milial/*Me#MA#%9*011//IliN42 N"ne*%16<**fbEE#LOMMim#000$ More on this story
Abolish Natural Resources Wales, say Welsh Conservatives
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-46372452 313 , Incompetence does not explain timber sales scandal say AMs - BBC News 12,9018* ncompetence does not explain timber sales scandal say AMs
26 November 2018
THINKSTOCK
incompetence alone does not explain why Natural Resources Wales repeatedly sold publicly- owned timber without going to the open market, AMs have said.
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S.4, -- 01/12/2018 0 Incompetence does not explain timbe-sales scandal say AMs - BBC News Despite the report, months later the quango established 59 new contracts without a tender to three firms, including BSW Timber.
T newer deals were stru:k to cope with the fallout of the end of the original 2014 agreement, which was scrapped after the firrr failed to build a new saw lire that had been contractually promised.
in both cases the auditor general was unable to say whether the deals were lawful.
Allthe deals were sold at below the market rate - and the failed 10-year agreement lost taxpayers £1rn.
What does the committee say?
"The decisions made by experienced staff at NRW are inexplicable and It Is difficult to view these actions a result of Incompetence," said committee chairman and Tory AM Nick Ramsay.
He said earlier concerns were disregarded and the subsequent actions of NRW "appear to defy logic".
"We can only conclude that we will never fully understand or have an explanation for what happened," he sal 01/12/2018 ' Incomnetence does not explain timber sales scandal say AMs -BBC News
But the report argues that the collapse of the deal was "eminently forseeable", and it is likely that NRW knew the saw line was not being constructed but took no action.
/Ms found it "difficult to compreherd why NRW would reward" BSW Timber, and found decisions to ..award the deals were not reported to the organisation's board.
Signed contracts could not be supplied for all deals, while some were authorised by staff that were not authorised to do so.
m Fresh timber sales criticism for agency
• What went on in NRW?
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https:#wivw.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-46317429 313 ---lill 01/12/2018 Natural Resources Wales seems 'out of control', says AM -BBC News I i 114 Natural Resources Wales seems 'out of control", says AM
18 July 2018
Wales' leading environmental quango appears to be "out of control", according to a Labour assembly member.
Lee Waters was responding after Natural Resources Wales faced a damning report over a decision to sell timber to three companies without asking other firms.
The sales came alter NRW was criticised for doing the same thing in an earlier long4erm timber deal.
Auditor General Huw Vaughan Thomas sajd some contracts to buy publicly-owned wood were not entered into lawfully.
. Fres'ltimber sales griticism for agepcy
£39m timber deal'extraordinary error'
, NRW timber deal questioned by auditor
Speaking in the Senedd, Llanelli AM Mr Waters said the situation was "outrageous".
"What is going on in NRW to have their accounts qualified for the third year in a running - it's unprecedented and frankly outrageous," he said.
"1 am struggling to think of an explanation as to why this might be?
"Might it be corruption or incompetence? But it does appear that the forestry section of NRW is out of control.
"1 think there needs to be accountability from the senior leadership of this organisation which does appear to be out of control."
https://www.bbo.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politios-44879456 1/2 0..0------< 01/12/2018 Natural Resources Wales seems 'out of control', sayE AM - BBC News
Mr Waters added: "I am encouraged by the auditor's view that the new CEO, Clare Pillman, does take the issues, at last, very seriousty.
"But what about the chair, Diane McCrea, where's she been? How could she let this happen again, she vA in charge last year.
"1 think this should give us pause for thought on creating large organisations like this. If this was a local authority, It would be put into special measures:
Rural Affairs Secretary Lesley Griffiths told Mr Waters that she was 'completely in agreement" with him that this was "a very serious matter".
She added that she had met the NRA/ chair, Diana McCreat on Monday and the minister was "reflecting on that conversation".
Nick Ramsay, chair of the assembly's public accounts committee, said that nis committee would be "re- examining the issue" in the autumn.
. 01/12/2018 Timber scandal: Whatwent on in Natural Resources Wales? - BBC News Timber scandal: What went on in Natural Resources Wales?
By David Deans BBC News
7 August 2018
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The row over how timber sales were managed at Natural Resources Wales has cost at least one official their job.
But the resignation otchairwoman [Mane McCrae has not been enough to stem the controversy over how the organisation managed to sell timber repeatedly without going to the open market.
A newWales Audit Office report, written by the former auditor general Huw Vaughan Thomas, reveals fresh cetails about the contentious deals.
low did it all start?
Back in 2014, NRW struck a 10-year deal with BSW Timber - worth £39m to the quango - to buy wood in a bid to deal with diseased larch.
This collapsed in March 2017, because BSW Timber did not build a saw line as it had promised.
n NRW knew contracts lost £lm in income
• Fresh timber sales_criticism for agency
- Agency chair quits after timber scandal
m £89:n deal pulled over timber saw_line
The lact that the contracts were never put to the open market led to auditors criticising the accounts for 2015/16 in what is known as a "qualification" - they were unable to say if the deals were lawful or not.
But despite this incredibly strong - and rare - criticism of a public body, NRW embarked on a further 59 contracts with three different firms which were again not tendered.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-45097451 1/5 01/12/2018 Timber scandal: What went on in Natural Resources Wales? - BBC News 4 It sparked a repeat of Mr Vaughan Thomas' criticisms, and a qualification to the annual accounts for a third year.
Meanwhile, one of the recipients of the new deals was BSW Timber itself, which had threatened to sue NRW after it was told the original deals were coming to an end.
What does this report show that we didn't know?
On the 28 March 2017, the then NRW chief executive Emyr Roberts sat in front of the Public Accounts Committee and was unable to say if a new saw line had been built.
But the report shows that BSW Timber had told him In a meeting the previous month that the saw line was no longer commercially viable.
At that meeting, BSW was told that if the new saw line was not constructed by the end of March, the contracts would be terminated.
The company replied by threatening to sue NRW to recover £4m it claimed it had invested, and to close its Welsh premises.
egal advisors to NRW said they could see no possible claim against the quango, and that the £4m investment BSW made was irrelevant as they did not build the saw line.
They warned that proceeding with a renegotiation with the same firm was legally risky, too, given EU state aid rules that prohibit state intervention that could potentially distort competition.
But NRW proceeded to renegotiate. It also sought a deal which, once it was completed, would mean BSW would have ultimately received 40% of what it would have had under the terminated contracts.
That is significant, because the reduction was proportionate to the £4m investment BSW Timber said it had made - 40% of the £1 Om it was originally expected to spend.
In the end, BSW made a deal which meant the firm would have received 43.3% of what it was originally offered under the terminated 10-year deal. .
GETTY IMAGES
How did another company become involved?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-45097451 215 01/12/2018 Timber scandal· What went on in Natural Resources Wales?-BBC News NRW went on to award 59 contracts - 11 to BSW, 11 to a company owned by BSW called Tillhill, and 38 = for the sale of standing trees to a timber harvester firm, Euroforest.
The deals with the latter firm - the name of which has been confirmed by NRW - came about after they emailed the quango on 31 March 2017 asking for the same arrangement as BSW. It had been involved in the work on the old timber deals.
"We have done everything that has been asked of us and essentially been hung out to dry," Euroforest said, expressing suspicions BSW Timber would take harvesting back in-house.
GETTY IMAGES
Could NRW have made more money?
The organisation acknowledges it lost out on £1 m income on the first set of 10-year deals.
And auditors have serious doubts as to whether the subsequent deals were priced at market rates.
Prices differed between what was offered to BSW Timber and what was offered to Tillhill and Euroforest.
In 11 of tile 38 contracts to Euroforest, the prices for wood were the same as the terminated deals, which RW had itself acknowledged were poor value for money.
The report said that if all the contracts - most of which were completed by March 2018 - had been priced the same way as the BSW deals, NRW may have received £186,232 more in income.
The former auditor general, Huw Vaughan Thomas, wrote it was "unacceptable that NRW has kept no records setting out its reasons for applying the prices it did to the transitional contracts".
https:Nwww.bbc.co.ukinews/uk-wales-politics-45097451 315 01/12/2(18 Timber scandal: What went on in Natural Resources Wales? - BBC News
Why did they make 59 new contracts without tendering them? dRW drew up the transitional deals - which mostly covered the financial year 2017-18 - to ensure that the nding of the longer deals did not have an impact on timber processors and customers, or their income.
The organisation has an exception in its own rules that allows it to negotiate directly with firms in reaction to unexpected events.
But Mr Vaughan Thomas suggested there was nothing unexpected about the failure to build the saw line.
"A new saw line typically has a construction period of 12 to 18 months and therefore NRW should have been aware many months before March 2017 that the saw line was very unlikely to be constructed," he said.
Because of this, the then auditor general said NRW was unable to demonstrate it had a good enough reason to depart from its own timber marketing plan "when it entered into 59 timber sales contracts without seeking competition from the market".
"1 am therefore not satisfied that NRW complied with principles of public law when entering into the ntracts, and that the resultant transactions are lawful," he wrote.
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https:#www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-45097451 4/5 01M2/2018 Timberscandal: Whatwent on in Natural Resources Wales? - BBC News 'Rip-off' Welsh timber deal left taxpayer £lm short 7 August 2018 Timber scandal: Natural Resources Wales chair quits 19 July 2018 Natural Resources Wales timber sales criticised by watchdog again 16 July 2018 Natural Resources Wales' £39m timber deal criticised 15 March 2017 Natural Resources Wales' timber deal pulled over saw line 4 April 2017
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5/5 --= ---- i V, 'Vv L DJU' 1 LIULLIU ill luC) >82 U Helena Venables updates us on the dramatic events silrroO Jilig I shooting on NRW land as well as the latest findings regarding fox
annah Blythyn, Welsh environment minister, UK·w,clu lic 31(15;K >rl· . ., tv, , .,.1 1„ ,(11, v#" It, A Ir" " " ' may be wishing she'd neve, got involved witli to hor (11 11 1,) unci 01 (,i tril i il the shooting community as the saga of tile I c; In't rel,roclitf:, j .ill 01 11 h,·:r,-t, IM,1 ,1 114 \N¢,r,1, ·1 Natural Resources Wales (NRW) ban of pheasant read to s,}0 Ilow , .1,ivnrly Mt 'ile irt, 3,ir, , ti ,¢ his Shooting on its land takes a further dramatic tum. team dismni ille Mi, Blyil Iyn' , ri:;i·:(inif ic·i nfi< 1
Three Organisations-the British Association for liighligh' 111£11 it is, in laci, her :,Icl 111, 1 \Ale.151 1 Shooting and Conservation (BASC), the Labour govern,11(11,1 th:.11 is aclit-,9 unrithicrilly. f )n, ' sentence 1 would lik,3 1.0 pull ( lit · # gs: .Your :tal{)t, Countryside Alliance (CA) and the National Gamekeepers' Organisation (NGO)- announced has sent a clear niessaqe lothn P, ibliC: VJ {5\'*\ Labour is coiitent to openly ignore the on 1 November that they have joined forces to mount a lega{ challengeto the ban. overwhelming findings of sciontlix resoar(,Pi, pursuing the furtherance of ideology over lact. The group has appointed law firm Brabners of Liverpool, which has now issued a letter before The rational response to being presented wilh . 'BASC, the CA and the NGO have joined forces to
clear evidence that disagrees with an establish action to NRW and may seek a judicial review, which the three bodies will fund jointly. A judicial view is to alter that view accordingly. indeed, t review is a type of court proceeding in which a is also the ethical reaction." judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or You can read more at www.sacs.org.uk action made by a public body. Brabne,*f Uverpool has considerable < ence#) shooting-related legal jssues; it itor-advocate Lachlan Nisbet, who is woti '. nd fieldspofts and is also the England and Wales : to BASC. ions took legal advice when its decision to allow receiving a , This was a ded ' 9. f .1.,4. .- - - . ' '.... * 4 11 ...1 4- I'. '1 -3"... · Avian Predation Evidence Including extracts from Letters from NRW and positive proof of wide spread damage by these predatory birds. Along 0 with evidence ofhow difficult it is to apply for control, licences and how the NRW have dramatically reduced control numbers, over recent years. Plus the fact the NRW have not undertaken any impact . studies relating to Avian damage and predation 3 f f t Ucences for control of avian predation You state ....control /icenses foravian predation, that have recen#ybeen issued, have on many occasions, been drastically reduced and in certain cases the control licence has negated any numbefs for the contro/ of Connorants" Speaking with colleagues in Species Licensing, I am advised that, over a five-year period (2013/14-2017/18), the number of licences issued by NRWtouse lethal measures to remove Cormorant ranged between 12 (2013/14) and 23 (2016/18) with a mean number of 17 licenses issued per year. From these, the mean annual number of Cormorant licensed to be killed per application was 9.2 birds (2013/14), 4.4 (2014/15), 3.9 (2015/16), 3 (2016/17) and 2.9 (2017/18) giving an overall 5-year mean of 4A birds per licence application. Furthermore, over the same five- year period, NRW issued 85 licenses to kill a total of 371 Com)orant. Of these, 26 licensees, representing 31% of all licenses issued, registered zero birds shot in their log of action return form. As you may be aware, the potential impacts of three piscivorous species (cormorant, v goosanderand red-breasted merganser) on wild and stocked fisheries have been the focus of a policy review in England (Defra, 2013)-9nd an.update review in Scotland (Harris et al., 2008, SNH, 2015) byt nO such review has been implemented in Wales. NRW have pconvened an·external Expert Advisory Group to carry out an evidence-led review i investigating the impacts of predation by fish-eating birds on both natural fish populations ' 1 and inland fisheries. The Advisory Group is a joint group between organisations that f represent sectorsof government, conservation and fisheries management which win G identify evidence and establish expert opinion in ordento ensure Welsh policy continues to be based upon the best available evidence and is robust and fit for purpose. I anticipate Lthe Group will present its advice to'the NRW Board in the Spring. r *03,4.,66 .'*:r-«- .... ,- :. r : .: 4 ,:- ,·i -·»:15,4.'94«#.:!! f*lri'M*»f-,vr Transparency of Local inquiry costs As a public body, NRW follows a presumption of financial transparency. If we were to receive a request to disclose the costs incurred by NRW as a result of the Local Inquiry, we would do so save for instances where genuinely commercially sensitive information should be withheld. Finally, may 1 reassure you that the actions we propose are fully intended to be for the sustainability of these iconic species into the future and I sincerely hope that in future we will be able to work together to achieve this shared goal. Yours sincerely Clare Pillman Prif Weithredwr, Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru Chief Executive, Natural Resources Wales vuww,naturairesources.v ales www. cyfoethnaturiol.cymru Page 2 of 2