Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is implementing a new charging scheme from 1 July 2023 after consulting on its plans to update the charges for some of its permits and licences last year (2022).
NRW is proposing to make changes to several charging schemes associated with applications for new and amended permits which would see charge people for the full regulatory services they use. NRW says its ambition is to reduce the reliance on the taxpayer and create a scheme that works better for business and the environment.
The Minister for Climate Change, Julie James MS has approved the proposals and NRW will introduce the new and revised charges from 1 July in the following areas:
- Industry regulation.
- Site-based waste.
- Water quality.
- Water resources.
- Reservoir compliance.
- Introduction of species licencing charges.
- Changes to how we define and offer pre-application advice.
Annual subsistence increases across eight regulatory regimes, which primarily cover the fees for compliance monitoring, had previously been approved by the Minister and implemented on 1 April 2023.
Commenting on the changes, Head of Regulation and Permitting at NRW, Nadia De Longhi, said: “Following the Minister’s approval of our proposals, we will now implement a regulatory charging scheme that is more closely linked to the actual cost of delivering these activities and to ensure charge-payers, not the public, bear the expense.
We understand the financial impact our charging proposals might have on some businesses.
“We understand the financial impact our charging proposals might have on some businesses, especially given the wider cost of living pressures. Following a review of the feedback provided during our consultation, we have agreed several revisions to the proposed charging schemes.
“We want to recover all of the costs of our regulation so that we can reinvest resources in more compliance activity and in preventing pollution happening in the first place. The outcome should be a fairer and more transparent charging system which will result in more effective protection and improvement of our natural environment.”