DATGANIAD I’R WASG

MEDIA RELEASE

Embargoed until 00.01, Thursday 21 July 2016

Statement from the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee

The Chair of the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, Nick Ramsay AM, has issued the following statement in response to the Wales Audit Office report, ‘Coastal Flooding and Erosion Risk Management in Wales’.

Mr Ramsay said:

“As recently as winter 2013-14 we saw the damaging effects of severe weather on the Welsh coastline.

“The Auditor General’s report highlights a significant capital investment in coastal risk management over recent years and the Welsh Government’s plans for a new £150 million Coastal Risk Management Programme from 2018-19 to 2020-21.

“However, climate changes mean that managing the risks for current and future generations requires solutions that are guided by the sustainable development principle at the heart of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act, including long-term investment.

“While the Auditor General’s report points to fresh impetus since the 2013-14 winter storms, it is clear that there is still much work to do to address issues raised by previous reviews and at a time when public bodies face on going constraints on their finances and technical capacity.

“The Committee will be considering the Auditor General’s report in due course.”

Notes to editors

For more information, interviews, photo or filming requests, please call 0300 200 7487, or email news@assembly.wales.

More information about the Public Accounts Committee can be found here.

The full report ‘Coastal Flooding and Erosion Risk Management in Wales’ is available from the Wales Audit Office.