Nodiadau cyfarfod Comisiwn Seilwaith Cenedlaethol Cymru: 7 Hydref 2025

NICW

Dr David Clubb, Chair
Dr Jenifer Baxter, Deputy Chair
Helen Armstrong, Commissioner
Eluned Parrott Commissioner
Nick Tune, Commissioner
Dr Eurgain Powell, Commissioner

Programme Office/Welsh Government

Stuart Ingram, NICW Secretariat

Equinox Communications (for items 9 and 10)

Maisie Wallace
Carys Williams

Apologies

Aleena Khan, Commissioner
Eluned Parrott Commissioner
Steve Brooks, Commissioner
Elspeth Jones, Nature Guardian
Nicola Britton, NICW Secretariat

Celebrations of success

DC advised he had gained a new role in Cardiff Met University to lead on their Climate Change work. He was also successful in gaining small contracts with DCWW (finishes March), Boards Wales and The Sunrise Project (finishes October). He will update the Declarations of Interest register as appropriate.

Values

JB reflected on her recent presentation to ICE Wales in North Wales and pondered if NICW could think about widening its targeted audience to include industry / professional bodies.

Futures and safety moment

EPo attended the Hwb Dyfodol online event a few weeks ago. There were 20 people on the call with an appetite to work together. It was a good thing for NICW to be involved with.

Declaration of interest

• No new declarations to be noted other than those noted earlier.

Notes of previous meeting

• Minutes of the previous meeting were updated and approved.

Invitations to events / attendance at events

• JB will be speaking at an Enabling Better Infrastructure event on 10^th October
• DC highlighted the Built Net Zero event on 17^th October in Cardiff and the RESP Forum on 16^th October.
• EPo highlighted the launch of the Climate Outreach report on 22^nd October in the Norwegian Church, Cardiff.
• EPa will be attending a Women in Public Affairs event shortly where NICW work could be mentioned.

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

DC had recently met with Ed Sherrif from Welsh Government and followed this up with a letter to the Cabinet Secretary.

Year 2: flooding

A meeting has been scheduled with new members of the Welsh Government flood team. This will facilitate an update on NICW recommendations.

Year 3: climate change communication

Launch event is to be discussed later. The Grangetown legacy project is ongoing and a proposal has been received from one community group, Green Soul, concerning the impacts of climate change on community gardening.

Year 4: infrastructure assessment

All of the individual workshops have been held. It was noted that there was still a question over how the report will be presented. This will be considered in forthcoming discussions.

Year 4:infrastructure delivery

A literature review and survey are ongoing. Findings will be used to shape individual workshops on case study projects. A NICW workshop on 24^th October has been arranged.

Nature on the Board event

Tentative attendance has been received from Laura McAllister. A further discussion will be needed in November on how the event will be managed.

Risk of the month discussion was about Commissioner handover. The register was updated to reflect the new terms of office for current Commissioners. DC stated his intention was to step down by September 2026. Those not intending to continue should have a conversation with DC, JB or SI. It was noted that a staggering of appointments should be considered.

DC reported that a Chat GPT bot for NICW had been developed at no cost to the Commission. Those wishing to access it should test it out and feedback. DC will use it to summarise the EU State of the Environment report which was recently published.

DC has shared the paper and not received any additional feedback. It has been sent to the Cabinet Secretary who had noted the contents. It was noted that NICW had received positive feedback in the recent Senedd debate on NICWs annual scrutiny session with the CCEI Committee. There was a discussion around where NICW should ‘sit’ within the Welsh Government structure.

Funding for NICW for the first half of 2026/27 has been tentatively received. It was considered that a separate discussion should be held to draw up a work plan for this period.

An approach has been made to NRW to host a tour of sites within SE Wales on Friday 14 November. The NICW meeting would be held in the DCFW offices in Cardiff Bay on Thursday 13 November with a discussion with DCFW around the delivery of infrastructure projects in Wales.

This will be held on Friday 21 November at Bryngarw Park near Bridgend. Landed Futures have been commissioned to lead the event. Further details are to follow.

Colleagues from Equinox joined the meeting and gave an update on Communications activity over the last 3 months.

A progress update on preparations for the Climate Adaptation and Engagement report launch were given. This included venue, numbers attending and communications opportunities.

A proposal from Lawyers for Nature was discussed and agreed. It was noted that the report should be used to develop a practical guidance document to help other organisations establish the role on their own boards.

None

The next meeting will take place on Thursday 13 November at DCFW Offices in Cardiff Bay.