To receive the updates report from the Statutory Officers’ Group (SOG).

[Statutory bodies]

To receive the update report from the Statutory Officers’ Group (SOG).

[Statutory bodies]

The River Wye Statutory Officers’ Group (SOG) Update slide deck was provided in the agenda.

The Chairperson drew attention to the SOG Meeting Summary of 24 September 2024 (agenda page 18) and expressed concern that the limited text did not provide the Nutrient Management Board (NMB) with sufficient information to undertake its agreed role to both advise and ‘challenge decision makers on their proposals, plans and decisions/actions’, nor did it demonstrate the SOG operating principle of working ‘openly and collaboratively with the NMB, seeking and taking into account the NMBs views in its decision making’; River Wye governance, October 2023: SOG terms of reference (link).

Other board members commented on the need: to understand who was participating in SOG meetings; to provide keys to graphs and photographs included in the update; to identify definitive actions / outcomes; and for open collaboration, with the SOG being explicit about the support that the NMB could provide to the responsible bodies in their work to protect and restore the River Wye.

Dan Humphries commented on delays in the Diffuse Water Pollution Plan and Welsh Evidence Base.  Martin Quine acknowledged the potential to review the governance arrangements but emphasised the need to manage expectations, particularly in terms of progress between quarterly meetings.  Ann Weedy commented that the delays in the key documents limited the scope of the recent SOG meeting.

There was a discussion about the contents of the SOG Update going forward, with comments made about: the potential for benchmarks; the need for detailed SOG meeting minutes; and the need for additional narrative to aid understanding for non-professionals.

Noting a reference in the Natural England slides, ‘Ongoing advice to the planning department regarding the need to demonstrate that growth proposed in the new local plan and related plans can be accommodated without causing nutrient targets on the

River Lugg and the River Wye to be exceeded’, the Chairperson commented on the need to take account of the Cardiff University report on the role of phosphate and other nutrients on water quality in the River Wye.

The Chairperson provided a brief overview of the Welsh Government Water Summit (25 September 2025), chaired by the Deputy First Minister with responsibility for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, and commented on the positive input from the agricultural sector and the clear sightedness about the challenges.