The Section 6 Duty
Your Community or Town Council has a statutory duty under Section 6 of the Environment Act (2016) which states that every public body…
…must seek to maintain and enhance biodiversity in the exercise of their functions in relation to Wales, and in so doing promote the resilience of ecosystems, so far as consistent with the proper exercise of those functions.
To comply, a Council should:
embed the consideration of biodiversity and ecosystems into their early thinking and business planning, including any policies, plans, programmes, and projects, as well as their day to day activities.
Every public authority, including all Community and Town Councils, must publish a report on what they have done to comply with the duty. The first report was due at the end of December 2019, further reports must then be published before the end of every third year. The last report was due by the end of December 2022. Reports provide transparency, accountability and are a communication tool. The next reporting round is now active, with reports due by the end of 2025.
We are working with the Welsh Government to keep a record of the reports and this will allow us to create a database across our sector and share best practice, helping all of you complete both robust Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPs) and future S6 reports (2025).
Please can all Councils send their Section 6 Report with the direct URL link to where the report is published to: [email protected].
One Voice Wales keeps a record of all published Section 6 reports and shares this information with Welsh Government. We also provide a list of compliant Councils for publication on the Wales Biodiversity partnership website.
An overview of the Section 6 duty is available here:
The Section 6 Report
Reports are due from all public bodies in all Community and Town Councils by the end of 2025.
Reports can be included in your Council’s Annual Report, or completed separately using provided templates. Once ratified, they must be published on a website or made available on request.
Templates for the Section 6 reports are available below:
- Section 6 Report Template for Group 1 councils (bilingual) for sharing or viewing online.
- Section 6 Report Template for Group 1 councils – Bilingual Print layout
- Section 6 Report Template for Group 2 or 3 councils for sharing or viewing online. Word templates
- Section 6 Report Template for Group 2 or 3 councils – Bilingual Print layout
Please note that the report should be in proportion to the scope of each Council. Please refer to the Section 6 Duty Overview and the table below to understand which sections of the report you should need to complete.
Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPs)
To allow a Council to complete robust Section 6 reporting, it is also required for each Community and Town Council have an active Biodiversity Action Plan published or available on request. Councils can seek advice and guidance from our Local Places for Nature Officer with writing their plans. The completed plan should then be reviewed and updated regularly. At the end of each 3 year period, all completed tasks on the Biodiversity Action Plan can be transferred to your Section 6 Report.
Templates for Biodiversity Action Plans are available to download below:
BAP template Gp 1 Council
BAP template Gp 2 and 3 Councils
One Voice Wales – Section 6 Workshops
Following our successful series of Section 6 webinars in April we are now offering your Council an opportunity to attend one of our Section 6 Report writing workshops. We will be running six workshops over 3 weeks, and these will be held online via Zoom.
During each online workshop, Councils will have an opportunity to ask questions, share best practice and work with our Biodiversity Officers on their own Section 6 Reports.
Working in small groups we will discuss actions that can contribute to each objective and help you complete an engaging and comprehensive report.
Numbers in each workshop will be capped at a maximum of 20 Councils, to allow each Council to get the most out of the session.
Two members of each Council are welcome to attend the same workshop.
Please only attend one workshop per Council. This will allow as many Councils as possible to attend.
To book a place on one of the workshops please click below:
Section 6 Report – Online Workshops
Tuesday 28.10.25 @6.30pm – 8pm
Wednesday 29.10.25 @6.30pm – 8pm
Thursday 30.10.25 @10am – 11.30am
Monday 3.11.25 @10am – 11.30am
Thursday 13.11.25 @1pm – 2.30pm
This will open a short registration form, once you have completed this form the meeting link will be immediately sent to you by email.
Please write your email address carefully or you may not receive the link.