Thank you for writing to me regarding the important issue of the Glover Landscapes Review.
As know, the reforms set out as a result of the Glover Landscapes report, by the UK Government will play a vital role in meeting the UK Government’s international commitment to protect 30% of land for biodiversity by 2030 as the UK builds back greener. The package of measures announced by the UK Government reflect many of Julian Glover’s recommendations, as part of a renewed and strengthened focus on nature recovery in England’s protected landscapes and to make them greener and more accessible to everyone. I’m sure you will agree that more work needs to be done by the Welsh Government to protect Wales’ natural beauty. My colleague, the Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Janet Finch-Saunders MS, will raise this with the Welsh Government and continue to hold Labour ministers to account.
Protected landscapes play an essential role in tackling climate change, protecting biodiversity and supporting the nation’s health and wellbeing. It is therefore vital that the Labour Welsh Government takes meaningful action to tackle the issues of keeping Wales’ green spaces alive.
I am proud to say that Wales’ National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty are amongst Wales’ greatest and most cherished natural wonders and should be protected as such. As environmental issues are a devolved matter, it is vital that the Labour Welsh Government uses its powers to ensure that Wales plays its part in conservation. As you may know, the Labour Welsh Government declared a climate change emergency in 2019, however, has so far failed to take any serious action. It is particularly concerning that the Committee on Climate Change has previously reported that Wales is not on track to meet its 80% target let alone achieve Net Zero. The Labour Welsh Government therefore needs to take the action required to tackle climate change, rather than hide behind empty rhetoric.
Furthermore, my colleagues and I in the Welsh Conservatives recognise the importance of taking urgent action to both protect and enhance our precious natural environments and wildlife biodiversity. It is deeply concerning that the State of Nature 2019 report highlighted, of the 6,500 species found in Wales that have been assessed using the IUCN Regional Red List criteria, 523 (8%) species are formally classified as threatened and therefore at risk of extinction from Great Britain.
We want Wales to be a world leader in protecting our environment, which is why we have called on the Labour Welsh Government to legislate for ambitious targets to improve nature and biodiversity in Wales, as well as updating the planning system to mandate biodiversity net gains on new developments. Sadly, it is yet to do so.
Regarding the illegal use of off road motor vehicles, I deplore the damage that these events do to the natural environment. I firmly believe that any such illegal activity should be prevented by the police and anyone involved in such events should be prosecuted. This is why I welcome the £821 million for provided by the UK Government for police forces in Wales. This represents a 5% increase in the previous financial year. I also welcome the fact that the UK Government has stood by its commitment to recruit 20,000 new police officers, with 11,000 extra police officers recruited since 2019. This means an extra 479 police officers in Wales.
Welsh Conservatives have called on the Welsh Government to work with the Home Office to establish a National Rural Crime Taskforce for Wales. Such an organisation would help to protect our countryside from crime and help protect Wales’ natural beauty from vandalism.
Policing is ever more data driven, and it is absolutely vital that where a crime is committed that it is reported, so I would encourage anyone who has knowledge of a crime to report it so that rural crime in our countryside can be properly resourced.
Thank you for taking the time to write to me regarding this important issue.