Shropshire Star

A new Welsh Government nature law, single use vaping ban and a new European deal - Senedd Member Joyce Waton's view

A new law to protect nature has been brought forward by the Welsh Government. On Tuesday, environment minister Huw Irranca-Davies introduced a new Environment Bill

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Supporting image for story: A new Welsh Government nature law, single use vaping ban and a new European deal - Senedd Member Joyce Waton's view
Mid and West Wales Senedd Member Joyce Watson

A new law to protect nature has been brought forward by the Welsh Government. On Tuesday, environment minister Huw Irranca-Davies introduced a new Environment Bill.

If passed by the Senedd, it will allow members of the public to challenge organisations in Wales on environmental issues – overseen by a new Office of Environmental Governance Wales.

The 2023 State of Nature report found that 18% of monitored species in Wales are threatened with extinction. 

We need to get much tougher on issues like river pollution, principally caused by agriculture and sewage, and go much further towards reversing habitat and biodiversity loss. This legislation is a crucial step towards those aims.

Sticking with the environment – single use vapes are now banned across the country. Thank goodness! We’ve all seen them strewn across our public spaces. 

Keep Wales Tidy estimates that 360,000 single use vapes are littered in Wales annually, with a further 120,000 flushed down the toilet. 

And we know that they are a factor in the significant rise in youth vaping – and nicotine addiction – in recent years. So, good riddance all round.

At the Senedd this week, I asked the First Minister about the impact of the UK-EU agreement. 

In May, Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed a new deal with the European Union which will deliver on his core mission to grow the economy, back British jobs and put more money in people’s pockets. 

Extensive negotiations over the last six months have led to the third major deal struck by the Labour government in as many weeks, following the US and India. 

The EU is Wales’s most significant trading partner, and the largest market for inward investment. 

This agreement will make it easier for food and drink to be imported and exported, and some routine checks on animal and plant products will be removed completely, allowing goods to flow freely again.

Another boost for Welsh businesses – I also asked finance minister Mark Drakeford about plans to change business rates in Wales, to give smaller shops a lower rate. The Welsh Government is currently consulting on the scheme. To learn more and take part, visit: www.gov.wales/proposals-non-domestic-rates-differential-multipliers

Mid and West Wales Senedd Member Joyce Watson