Section 6 biodiversity and resilience of ecosystems duty: a guide to what is a section 6 public authority

Section 6(9) (on legislation.gov.uk) and section 6(10) (on legislation.gov.uk) of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 list the wide range of public authorities that the duty in section 6(1) applies to, which includes the Welsh Ministers, public bodies, holders of public office and statutory undertakers.

The section 6 duty applies to public authorities who exercise functions in relation to Wales, such as local authorities, town and community councils, local health boards, national health trusts, and national park authorities. It also covers those that might not be located solely in Wales but exercise functions in relation to Wales, such as the Crown Estate and UK Government agencies like the DVLA, Companies House and the Intellectual Property Office. 

It is important to note that it is the responsibility of each organisation to satisfy themselves of their own legal duties and whether they are a public authority for the purposes of section 6 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016. This document is merely a guide to provide some assistance but, if an organisation is in any doubt, they must seek their own independent legal advice.

Section 6(9) and (10) identifies the organisations subject to the duty, either by specifically naming them or by categorising them more broadly. 

To help determine if your organisation is subject to the section 6 duty, you should check the named public authorities listed in Section A below and, if it is not listed, check whether it falls within the categories of public authorities listed in Section B below.

If an organisation or person exercises functions in relation to Wales and falls within one of the definitions below, they are subject to the section 6(1) duty.

Specifically named public authorities

• Welsh Ministers
• First Minister for Wales
• Counsel General to the Welsh Government
• a Minister of the Crown
• a government department
• a local authority, which means a council of a county, county borough or community in Wales
• a local planning authority
• a corporate joint committee

Categories of public authorities

• a public body
• a person holding an office
  • under the crown
  • created or continued in existence by a public general Act of Senedd Cymru or of Parliament, or
  • the remuneration in respect of which is paid out of money provided by the Senedd Cymru or Parliament
• a statutory undertaker

The term “statutory undertaker” is defined in section 6(10) as: 

• a person authorised by any enactment to carry on any railway, light railway, tramway, road transport, water transport, canal, inland navigation, dock, harbour, pier or lighthouse undertaking or any undertaking for the supply of hydraulic power
• an operator of an electronic communications code network (within the meaning of paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 17 (on legislation.gov.uk) to the Communications Act 2003)
• an airport operator (within the meaning of the Airports Act 1986) operating an airport to which part 5 of that Act applies )on legislation.gov.uk) applies
• a gas transporter (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Gas Act 1986 (on legislation.gov.uk)). Ofgem maintains a list of gas licensees
• a holder of a licence under section 6(1) of the Electricity Act 1989 (on legislation.gov.uk). Ofgem maintains a list of electricity suppliers
• a water or sewerage undertaker. Ofwat maintains a list of water and sewerage undertakers
• the Civil Aviation Authority or a holder of a licence under Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Transport Act 2000 (c. 38) (on legislation.gov.uk), to the extent that the person holding the licence is carrying out activities authorised by it
• a universal service provider within the meaning of Part 3 of the Postal Services Act 2011 (on legislation.gov.uk)

Please note that where there is a website link to a list of organisations, only those who meet one of the section 6 definitions and exercise functions in relation to Wales, are required to comply with the duties in section 6 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016.