Business plan 2022-23

Welcome to our annual business plan for 2022/23

We start the year facing unprecedented uncertainty with the unfolding war in Ukraine, the rising cost-of-living and the continuation of the public health crisis, with the impacts likely to be felt across the globe, not only over the course of 2022/23 but over the longer-term. These immediate crises will rightly absorb the energy and attention of politicians and commentators across the world and may mean there will be less of a global spotlight on the nature and climate emergencies.

Nevertheless, 2021/22 has put in place some key building blocks for global action – with new evidence presented by the UN IPBES reports, international agreements at COP26 in Glasgow and preparations for COP15 in Kunming later in 2022. Closer to home, the Welsh Government has put the nature and climate emergencies at the heart of government decision-making as they set the strategic ambition for the term of government. Key projects are coming online – such as Morriston Hospital in Swansea using a solar farm to generate its own energy, the first net-zero carbon primary school in the Vale of Glamorgan, and the coming together of environment organisations across Wales to work collaboratively to reverse the decline in species through the Natur am Byth programme. In the face of an uncertain future, these projects are beacons of hope that we can all hold onto, showing what we can achieve collectively as ‘Team Wales’.

For us in NRW, much of our ‘business as usual’ work contributes directly to addressing the nature and climate emergencies, and in this year’s plan we have tried to draw this link out more explicitly. We have also given a much stronger focus to ‘nature-based’ solutions, recognising that targeted action on peatland restoration and woodland creation, when done in the right way, will directly benefit the nature and climate emergencies. Following discussions with our board, we have refreshed our focus on water quality, establishing greater focus on working with partners in local authorities, water companies and the economic regulator as well as renewing our commitment to providing evidence and advice to inform the future land management scheme in preparation by the Welsh Government. This is a once in a generation opportunity to ensure that future agricultural support systems enable farmers to deliver multiple benefits – maintaining viable businesses, that continue to contribute to a vibrant culture and economy in rural Wales while also allowing nature to adapt and thrive.

Our pursuit of the sustainable management of natural resources, means that we are constantly striving to maximise the benefits of our work. For example, woodland creation in the upper reaches of a catchment will deliver benefits not just for nature and carbon, but also contribute to flood prevention downstream. Sometimes the funding streams that we work within and the reporting and monitoring of progress against these budgets, prevent us from capturing these multiple benefits. As we prepare the new corporate plan, we will develop our approach to more effectively capture and report on these multiple benefits.

2022/23 is a year of transition for NRW. This is the last business plan aligned to the current corporate plan. Over this year we will be putting in place the corner stones for the future of our organisation. In recognition of the government’s ambition, as well as the ongoing budgetary pressures across the public sector, we have worked with ministers and officials through 2021/22 to build a common understanding of our resources, priorities and the appetite and opportunity for doing things differently. We will bring this work to a conclusion over the course of the year to ensure that the outputs inform the Welsh Government budget setting process for 2023/24 and allowing sufficient time, if necessary, to implement any changes in service that may result. In working through this process we will face very difficult choices, which will have to be informed by priorities. We have made good progress on this work to date and are grateful to ministers for sustaining the level of funding for 2022/23 so that we can maintain the service we currently provide. Nevertheless, given the urgent challenges of the nature and climate emergencies and the pressures on resources across the Welsh Government and Wales, we need to collectively develop radical new approaches to deliver our shared outcomes. Maintaining the status quo will not be enough, we need to reshape the way we do things and harness digital technology to drive the change we know is needed.

We are committed to improving the services we deliver by putting customers at the heart of what we do - simplifying and streamlining processes and making it easier for people to engage with us, with a particular emphasis on our digital provision. Through our adfywio (renewal) programme we will be looking at our accommodation and fleet provision to anticipate the different ways teams want and need to work together as Covid-19 restrictions are relaxed. We are reviewing our working policies and practices, looking to redesign office spaces to make them more inclusive and looking at innovative technology solutions. As part of our net-zero plan, we are also committed to reducing the carbon footprint associated with our accommodation and fleet portfolio.

Alongside environment sector organisations from across the UK, we recognise that we need to do more to ensure that the communities we serve can engage both with and in nature in a way which is meaningful. Through the nature and us national conversation, we will be using a range of different tools and techniques to involve varied and diverse groups and communities in the preparation and analysis of materials, to build a collaborative, inclusive and inspiring vision for the environment of Wales in 2030 and 2050.

Over the course of 2022/23 we will be involving staff and partners in the preparation of the new corporate plan, with workshops and a series of engagement events running through the summer and autumn. While we are energised by the leading role NRW can play in addressing the nature and climate emergencies, we know that we cannot do this alone. We are committed to listening to the voices of the people of Wales, our partners and our staff about what we can all do together to really make a difference now and for future generations.

Introduction

This business plan sits under our current corporate plan up to 2022 (now being rolled forward to 2023). It sets out what NRW will do in the year ahead and what we plan to focus on to tackle the climate and nature emergencies. This will be the final business plan aligned to our current corporate plan, and we have included both new and ongoing programmes as well as ‘business as usual’ work, to give a fuller picture of the breadth of our planned work for 2022/23. In this year’s plan our five strategic priorities reflect the strategic discussions led by our board as well as five priorities agreed for the year with ministers. These ministerial priorities are for 2022/23 only, while we work together to agree the strategic objectives in our remit letter which will cover the full term of this government and form the basis of our new corporate plan. We are working with our board to develop our new corporate plan, which will set out our well-being objectives and strategic direction against which subsequent annual business plans will deliver.

The updated programme for government and co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru set out the Welsh Government’s own ten well-being objectives for its term of office. Importantly for us in NRW, this includes the well-being objective to ‘Embed our response to the climate and nature emergency in everything we do’, where we feel we can make a significant contribution to supporting delivery of the identified actions. Through the work we do and the expertise and knowledge of our staff we also contribute to the well-being objectives relating to ‘Build a stronger, greener economy as we make maximum progress towards decarbonisation’ and ‘Make our cities, towns and villages even better places in which to live and work’.

For 2022/23 we have agreed five priorities with ministers, related to the work of the ministerial ‘deep dives’ and other commitments where they have asked us to look for opportunities to take forward specific actions over the course of the year:

Marine consenting for renewable energy developments
Enabling tree planting
Flood prevention and dealing with coal tips
Water quality
Biodiversity

Covid-19 has challenged us all and forced us to re-evaluate how we work and innovate. Building on this, our adfywio programme is looking at where we work and the way we work – our buildings, transport and machinery and transforming our use of digital technology across our key areas of work to meet users’ needs. This will significantly reduce our carbon footprint, help us become more cost effective, and ensure we care for our staff through flexible working.

During 2021/22 we made good progress across a wide range of our work programmes amidst the challenges of Covid-19 and several serious flooding events. These include:

progressing our national peatland action programme
acquiring and identifying new sites for woodland creation and undertaking tree planting
reaching our target of 800 properties benefitting from a reduced level of flood risk through our capital works by December 2021, with further work to benefit even more properties by the end of 2022/23
launching nature and us / natur a ni – helping Wales develop a shared vision for the natural environment in Wales to 2050
being a member of all 19 public services boards (PSBs) in Wales, using our area statements and working with other public bodies to help put nature and climate change at the heart of PSBs’ well-being plans and well-being assessments
supporting Welsh Government with EU exit work and work such as the implementation of the Wales national marine plan.

Further details can be found in our quarterly performance reports published on our website.

Our roles: what do we do?

As the largest Welsh Government sponsored body, we have a wide range of roles and responsibilities which we deliver in an integrated way to achieve our overall purpose of the sustainable management of natural resources in Wales; these form our ‘business as usual’ work:

Adviser to Welsh Government, industry, farming, landowners, land managers, the wider public and voluntary sectors
Regulator for industry and waste sites, energy, marine, forest and designated sites for example. Our statutory obligations are to permit, ensure compliance and take enforcement action to reduce the risk of environmental harm, protect people and the natural environment, support legitimate business and facilitate renewable energy generation. We issue about 4,500 permits and species licences in total each year and have a target to deliver 95% of permits to time.
Designator for sites of special scientific interest, areas of outstanding natural beauty, national parks and for national nature reserves
Responder to environmental incidents: we receive over 8,500 reports of environmental incidents a year and target our response to those categorised as ‘high’: we have a target to respond to 95% high category incidents within 4 hours
Statutory consultee for about 7,000 planning applications a year: we have a target to deliver 95% of responses to time
Manager of 7% of Wales’ land area, including the Welsh Government Woodland Estate, national nature reserves and our flood defences and assets. We have 500km of flood defences and about 4,000 assets (our target is to maintain 98% of assets in high-risk locations to condition and to deliver our flood risk management capital programme). We also manage recreation facilities and a laboratory
Partner, educator, enabler supporting and facilitating other organisations’ work and helping people enjoy, learn in, learn for and learn about the natural environment
Evidence gatherer monitoring the environment, influencing, commissioning and undertaking research, developing and sharing knowledge and holding public records
Employer of our own staff as well as contractors and working with volunteers

Our values

Our values exemplify the way we want NRW to be and how we work:

We are passionate about the natural environment of Wales
We care for each other and the people we work with
We act with integrity
We make a difference now and for the future
We are proud to serve the people of Wales

Our organisation

Our organisational structure is designed to deliver locally, whilst maintaining high standards in the services we provide across the whole of Wales.

Delivery is supported by our central finance & corporate services; corporate strategy & development; and communication, customers and commercial directorates.

At a local level, we follow a place-based approach with seven place-based teams (including a marine team). These are led by our seven heads of place. This is underpinned by a central directorate for evidence, policy, and permitting led by our heads of business.

Each of the seven places has an area statement which highlights the opportunities and challenges in a particular geographical area to both enhance the local natural environment, provide opportunities for business and improve people’s health and well-being. Working in partnership is key to making the most of these opportunities.

Our well-being objectives and corporate plan to 2022 (extended to 2023)

Our strategic priorities and work this year contribute to achieving our well-being objectives described in our corporate Plan:

Champion the Welsh environment and the sustainable management of Wales’ natural resources
Ensure land and water in Wales is managed sustainably in an integrated way
Improve the resilience and quality of our ecosystems
Reduce the risk to people and communities from environmental hazards such as flooding and pollution
Help people live healthier and more fulfilled lives
Promote successful and responsible business, using natural resources without damaging them
Develop NRW into an excellent organisation, delivering first class customer service

We are currently preparing our next corporate plan to 2027, which will be published in Spring 2023.

Our strategic priorities for 2022/23

For 2022/23, our board has agreed five strategic priorities:

Responding to the climate emergency and the nature emergency, focussing on nature based solutions and decarbonisation
Using our expertise, alongside that of others, with evidence from SoNaRR 2020, to support innovative, integrated decision making to tackle the climate emergency and nature emergency
Improve water quality through raising awareness, using our regulatory and enforcement powers effectively and working collaboratively with others to reduce the impacts on biodiversity and human health, including agricultural and land management practices
Drive a just and green recovery following the pandemic involving a diverse range of stakeholders in our work.
Developing NRW into an excellent organisation, with a workforce that drives a strong performance culture and delivers value for money and social and environmental value for the people of Wales

Our strategic priorities for this year reflect evidence that has emerged over the last 12 months including reports from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), COP 26 and the build up to COP 15. Our priorities on climate and nature emergencies have been combined this year – as the two are inextricably linked – looking at nature based solutions that can give wider benefits.

The relationship between our strategic priorities and Welsh Government’s Ministerial priorities for 2022/23 are shown below. Our last two strategic priorities relate to working with stakeholders and making NRW an excellent organisation are not included.