Evaluation of implementation of the section 6 biodiversity duty: response to the report’s recommendations

Greater clarity needs to be established about the public authorities who fall within scope of the duty. This review found examples whereby public authorities were unclear if they needed to comply with the duty and had assumed, prior to our contact with them, that they were not within scope. The lack of response from 38 public authorities to this review means that further work is required to establish if these remaining authorities are within the scope of the duty, and if so, Welsh Government should communicate this as a matter of urgency to individual organisations.

Response

Section 6 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 defines which public authorities are subject to the duty. This includes listing specific classes of public authorities and more general definitions, and whether an organisation falls under its scope depends on how that body has been constituted. We do seek legal advice upon request from organisations. We have, to date, not published a list but following a recent study by Audit Wales into the section 6 duty we are now proposing to publish a list.

Since the duty’s inception there have been a number of communications (see below) sent to public authorities making them aware of the duty and what they need to do to comply with it. In addition, other awareness activities have taken place with presentations at events listed in the response to recommendation 5.  

There is also a section 6 working group with members from a range of public authorities including local authorities, universities, utility companies and health boards, together with umbrella organisations such as WLGA and One Voice Wales. It meets twice a year with 22 attending the most recent meeting. The aim of the group is to promote the section 6 duty and highlight actions to maintain and enhance biodiversity through the sharing of good practice through presentations and discussions. The group was initially set up as a time limited task and finish group but its terms of reference were then changed in 2023 as it evolved into its current role. There is also a dedicated section 6 mailbox which is listed in all correspondence and guidance, and any organisation can contact Welsh Government if they have questions concerning the section 6 duty.

List of section 6 PA correspondence

• April 2016: letter on introduction of the s6 duty – one for Well-Being of Future Generations (WFG) public bodies and one for the rest of PAs
• July 2018: section 6 workshop at the Wales Biodiversity Partnership 2018
• November 2019: Minister’s letter to PAs re reporting guidance and 1st reporting round
• November 2019: Minister’s email to town and community councils (T&CCs) re reporting guidance and 1st reporting round
• March 2021: email sent to PAs re section 6 evaluation
• September 2021: email sent to T&CCs re introduction to section 6 slides
• July 2022: Minister’s letter to local authorities, T&CCs and other PAs reminding them of the second reporting round and including a section 6 and biodiversity resources sheet
• September 2022: email to PAs re section 6 session at Wales Biodiversity Partnership Conference 2022

Once a definitive list of the public authorities who are within scope of the duty is established, Welsh Government should set out (within the guidance) how each public authority is expected to comply with the duty’s reporting requirements. We would suggest that as a minimum public authorities should be required to submit their plans and reports to Welsh Government and that a single repository of these documents be maintained. Welsh Government may wish to consider how it could hold public authorities to greater account if they do not comply with the reporting requirements set out by the duty. This could involve setting out the steps and actions which it will take to address cases of non-compliance e.g. formal reminder to public authorities.

Response

We have published guidance specifically on the reporting requirement which was sent to public authorities, together with a ministerial letter in Nov 2019. At the same time, guidance tailored to the town and community councils (T&CCs) was also produced and sent to the councils. This was distributed by One Voice Wales, the umbrella organisation for Welsh T&CCs.

For the second reporting round in 2022 the then minister wrote to PAs in July 2022 stating that reports were due by the end of that year. A resources sheet was also included with the letter. This detailed the guidance available, provided links to previously published reports, together with information on projects and initiatives including available funding. Again, a separate resource sheet was produced for T&CCs. There is also a frequently asked questions document which provides more wide-ranging guidance about the duty.

With the next round of reports due at the end of this year it is proposed that the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs will write to public authorities to remind them that their section 6 report is due. 

The forthcoming Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill includes the setting up an environmental oversight body, the Office of Environmental Governance Wales (OEGW) whose role will include overseeing public authorities’ compliance with environmental legislation.   

Welsh Government needs to improve the contact details it holds for public authorities for the purposes of communicating information about the duty. Many of the public authorities included on the database made available to the research team either did not have any contact details or contact details were outdated. Ideally, this database should include details for chief operating officers as well as individuals who have been actively engaged with the duty e.g., a biodiversity/environmental officer or compliance/policy officer. Updated contact details for many of the public authorities were gathered as part of the review and should be used as a starting point for this work.

Response

We do maintain a list of public authorities and each time correspondence is sent out, where possible, it is emailed to the CEO/senior officers of the authority. Each time a communication is sent out contact details are checked, but some are not always easily available and a generic email address is then used. 

The Wales Biodiversity Partnership and One Voice Wales have provided assistance with this, and we are exploring other options such as using other umbrella organisations to help with circulating future communications.

When communicating with local and national park authorities we do copy in the biodiversity/ecology officer. 

Welsh Government should continue to raise awareness about the duty across public authorities, ensuring that written communication is targeted at both senior level representatives within public authorities as well as operational staff who are actively involved with planning and reporting against the duty. This will be particularly important in the run up to public authorities being required to produce their second duty report, by the end of 2022. Communication to chief operating officers needs to be reinforced at Ministerial level to increase the status and prominence afforded to the duty.

Response

Since the duty’s inception in 2016 there have been a number of letters and emails sent to PAs. Previous communication with PAs has often been via ministerial letters/emails to CEOs/senior officers. Please see the correspondence listed in the responses to Recommendation 2 and Recommendation 5 which details actions taken to raise awareness of the duty. These include a workshop with local authority council leaders and the leads of the climate change and environmental committees and presentations at the Wales Biodiversity Partnership and to town and community councils.

Welsh Government could consider hosting an event or webinar late 2021/early 2022 to promote the duty and launch any new guidance to the sector. This event could be used to set out timescales for preparing a second duty report by the end of 2022, hear from public authorities from across all three groups who have effectively complied with the duty and to help facilitate networking between public authorities in order to share experiences and good practice.

Response

A presentation on the section 6 duty with a focus on the reporting requirement was given at the Wales Biodiversity Partnership Conference in October 2022. An email promoting this event was sent to PAs prior to it.  In addition, the following presentations and workshops took place: 

• September 2021: presentation at a One Voice Wales conference for town and community councils
• November 2021: Navigating the policy and planning landscape. A workshop for ecology consultants on biodiversity policy and the planning regime
• October 2022: presentation at the Wales Biodiversity Partnership Conference. Prior to the presentation an email was sent to public authorities to raise awareness of the event
• November 2022: presentation at the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) 50 Years Anniversary Conference for town and community councils
• November 2022: presentation and discussion with local authority council leaders and the leads of the climate change and environmental committees of Welsh local authorities as part of Wales Climate Week 2022. This focused on raising awareness of biodiversity legislation and policy, including the section 6 duty. Carolyn Thomas, MS for North Wales, also spoke to highlight what changes can made to the management of verges and green spaces to benefit biodiversity, and to also promote the “It’s for Them” campaign
• March 2023: Navigating the policy and planning landscape. A workshop for ecology consultants on biodiversity policy and the planning regime
• June 2023: presentation on biodiversity and the section 6 duty followed by a Q&A session at Powys Town & Community Council Environment & Nature Event
• February 2024: presentation and workshop at the Public Service Board Shared Learning conference 

The resources sheet included with the ministerial letter sent to PAs in July 2022 included links to good reports that were published for the first reporting round in 2019.

Welsh Government needs to consider how it can better provide acknowledgement and feedback to public authorities who share their published reports. This work needs to be appropriately resourced so that it can help improve biodiversity planning and delivery across public authorities. Without this role being in place to monitor and review the work of public authorities, there is a danger that the duty will not be maintained as a priority by authorities.

Response

Feedback is provided if a PA submits a plan or report for comment and officials do meet with PAs if requested. Looking ahead, the Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets)(Wales) Bill will introduce provisions to strengthen the monitoring, evaluation and reporting requirements for section 6 and this recommendation will be considered as part of the work required to develop our approach to monitoring, evaluation and reporting.

Welsh Government may wish to consider how Group 1 public authorities – office based with no land management responsibility, as well as town and community councils, could be better supported in terms of access to expert advice and guidance given that this cohort tend not to have inhouse biodiversity expertise to help develop their biodiversity plans.

Response

In 2022 we produced and published an introduction to the section 6 duty outlining the duty’s main aspects, together with an explanation of what biodiversity is, why it is important and with examples of good practice. A key audience for this is the T&CCs and it was circulated to the councils through One Voice Wales. Additionally, reporting requirement guidance has been produced specifically tailored to the T&CCs. Officials have also given presentations at a number of T&CC events over the last few years as listed in the response to recommendation 5. In addition, One Voice Wales have a member of staff dedicated to promoting the duty with the councils and they are also a member of the section 6 working group.

As for the group 1 authorities, their actions are more likely to be focused on ones that indirectly benefit biodiversity. These include actions that address objective 4 of Nature Recovery Action Plan for Wales which is about tackling key pressures on species and habitats, such as recycling, sustainable procurement and travel initiatives. Examples of these actions are included in a number of the section 6 guidance documents such as the good practice guide (on biodiversitywales.org.uk) which includes a section specifically for Group 1 PAs. 

There is scope to enhance the published guidance for the duty by including:

• examples of best practice such as case studies
• links to good quality plans and reports produced by other public authorities setting out what is considered to be their strengths
• suggestions for how partnership working could help public authorities to achieve their biodiversity objectives
• advice on how the duty can better align with other priorities including area statements, the WFG and the climate emergency agenda
• specific actions and examples that Group 1 public authorities without land, can take in relation to enhancing biodiversity

Response

In March 2020 we published a good practice guide (on biodiversitywales.org.uk) which lists examples of actions from a representative sample of public authorities. The guide lists the actions by group type. Also, the resources sheet sent out with the minister’s letter in July 2022 included links to a number of good reports, and links to exemplar reports were also included in the email sent to the T&CCs in 2021 circulating the introduction to the section 6 duty document.

In the presentations listed in Recommendation 5 many of these included a section on how actions that benefit biodiversity will also contribute to tackling the impacts of climate change.

The section 6 guidance documents will be refreshed to reflect the forthcoming Environment (Principles, Governance and Biodiversity Targets) (Wales) Bill and this process will include examining how the guidance can be enhanced to improve the section 6 duty’s implementation. New and refreshed Guidance will be co-designed and co-developed with public authorities.

Examples of actions which can be taken by public authorities are also published on the Wales Biodiversity Partnership website. Their website also includes a wide range of information promoting biodiversity and they also publish a monthly newsletter which includes information on current projects, available funding and the latest evidence.

Guidance is available on:

• Biodiversity and resilience of ecosystems duty (section 6): guidance for public authorities, and
• the Section 6 Biodiversity Duty (Wales Biodiversity Partnership)