Commenting on the Environment Minister’s decision to press ahead with a Single Environment Body for Wales, merging the Countryside Council, Environment Agency and Forestry Commission, Shadow Minister for Environment Russell George AM, said:
“Openness and transparency are clearly not words this minister understands.
“The business case for this merger remains unpublished and Assembly Members still haven’t been able to scrutinise the evidence.
“Labour’s track record on amalgamating public bodies in Wales – specifically the mergers of the Welsh Development Agency and the Wales Tourist Board, which failed to achieve either value for money or improved outcomes – is poor to say the least.
“Why should we have any faith in this latest decision when all calls for clarity have been completely ignored?”
Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs, Antoinette Sandbach AM, said:
“If the evidence exists, we do not contest the proposal to merge the Countryside Council and Environment Agency, although that evidence should be made public.
“What remains unacceptable is the decision to include the Forestry Commission in this merger. It is an arms-length commercial body that should be left alone.
“Today’s decision raises serious concerns over its estate and calls the future of our commercial forestry industry into question.”
