Taxpayers paid £5k for report calling for 'anti-racist' dog-free areas

Taxpayers paid £5,000 for a widely mocked report which called for dogs to be banned from parts of the countryside to help make Wales 'anti-racist'. 

Labour's devolved administration wants to end racism in the country by 2030 and ensure 'all areas' of public life are transformed as part of its Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan.

As part of this effort, it commissioned a report from campaign group Climate Cymru BAME to evaluate 'racism relating to climate change, environment, and rural affairs'.

The document was roundly ridiculed for making a string of bizarre suggestions, including the introduction of 'dog-free areas' to make local green spaces more inclusive. 

But now this mockery has turned to anger after it emerged the report cost £4,999 to compile, according to data released to MailOnline under Freedom of Information laws.

Joanna Marchong, investigations campaign manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'Taxpayers will be furious about this complete waste of precious resources.

'The Welsh government continually demands more cash from Westminster, yet they've managed to spend thousands of pounds on a report with absolutely no value or merit other than as a source of comedy.

'Welsh ministers need to ensure they are using existing funds more effectively before tapping up taxpayers.'

The reason behind the request for dog-free areas was not elaborated on in the report and the Welsh Government insisted it had no plans to act on the recommendation. 

Other suggestions included creating more urban allotments where people can grow their own food and handing out grants and subsidies to students, members of ethnic minorities and asylum seekers to help them 'commit more to environment and climate change issues'. 

The document was widely slated online and was described by Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies as 'virtual signalling nonsense'.

Climate Cymru BAME was set up by Climate Cymru, a larger environmental campaign group made up of 370 organisations from across Wales.

Climate Cymru BAME consists of around 20 members made up of students and professionals who have interest in environmental preservation and protection. 

A separate set of recommendations submitted by the North Wales Africa Society (NWAS) also called for 'dog-free areas'.

It said that during one of its focus groups, 'one black African female stated that she feels unsafe with the presence of dogs'.

Others also kept 'seeing dog fouling on the floor', the report added.

The NWAS report said that barriers to outdoor activities include the perception that growing food in gardens or allotments is 'dominated by middle-aged white women'.

Its authors also informed the Welsh government that people from ethnic minorities were upset about the 'low quality' of local green spaces.

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One person complained that 'the green spaces are not respected in areas where there is a bigger population of ethnic minority people'.

Other problems flagged included lack of public transport to non-urban green spaces and poor air quality in towns and cities.

The report also found that some BAME who provided evidence had 'concerns of the lack of understanding and relationships by the wider white population particularly in rural areas'.

It added there were 'concerns of the lack of understanding and relationships by the wider white population particularly in rural areas, from personal experiences'.

The Welsh Government said: 'There are no plans to ban dogs from the countryside and any suggestion otherwise is inaccurate and a complete misrepresentation of this report which sought to understand what information was already available on the relationship between ethnic minority people and environmental matters and where there were evidence gaps.

'It gathered information directly from ethnic minority people in Wales. Comments highlighted by the media are feedback from people asked their views and not Welsh Government proposals.

'The Welsh Government is committed to creating an anti-racist nation by 2030. Our Anti-racist Wales Action Plan is built on the values of anti-racism and calls for zero tolerance of all racial inequality.'