, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Inquiry: Welsh Government’s proposals for a Sustainable Farming Scheme
That's right, yes.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Inquiry: Welsh Government’s proposals for a Sustainable Farming Scheme
Yes. I think we've got the list out already, haven't we?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Inquiry: Welsh Government’s proposals for a Sustainable Farming Scheme
—next week as well. So, when I described that we work at pace, we are working at pace, and the reason we're doing that is because we need to give certainty to the farming community as well that there is an end point to this as well.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Inquiry: Welsh Government’s proposals for a Sustainable Farming Scheme
One of those has actually been guaranteeing the BPS for the year ahead, but we're willing to take that risk in order to deliver the certainty for farmers. But, Chair, you asked about the timescale, I can give you a little bit more detail. By the time we get…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Inquiry: Welsh Government’s proposals for a Sustainable Farming Scheme
Yes, I can, Chair. So, we've had already the first meeting of the ministerial round-table, they'll be meeting again very shortly. We have said consistently that the work now is to proceed at pace, not to try and reinvent the wheel here. So, the early part of…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Inquiry: Welsh Government’s proposals for a Sustainable Farming Scheme
Thank you very much. Huw Irranca-Davies, Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs. And Gian Marco.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Thank you very much.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
So, Food Matters Wales will be very soon. I can’t give you a precise date at the moment, off the top of my head, but it’s going to be very soon. The food strategy we’re hoping to bring forward—although there are updates on the website of the progress we’re…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Yes, I think, Hefin, we're bringing forward some significant items within the food agenda, and we recognise, by the way, the work that the new or the recently appointed—not 'new' any more—Future Generations Commissioner for Wales is doing in this area. I'm…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
I think, Hefin, Richard would like to add something there, if that's okay.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Hefin, yes, thank you for that question. And, over so many years, the incidents that we've seen with attacks by dogs on individuals that have led to tragic circumstances, and also, on other dogs, including companion dogs, or even on guide dogs and support…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
They could come forward with a range of different proposals about how we proceed to achieve that target of eradication by 2041, and I appreciate that the focus that you've raised today is around the issue of culling, but they might come forward with a range…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
I think I'd frame it in a different way. I think they are judgments that are based on what works, what is effective, and they will also be reflective of, at any moment in time, a programme of government as well. As would be the same, the equivalent of a…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Well, let me not do a hypothetical for a moment, but we do have a programme of government, which is that we do not use culling of badgers. But that doesn't preclude, I have to say, things such as vaccination of badgers, and, in fact, at this very moment, we…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Well, when we look at where the data is taking us at the moment, that reveals several things. One is that over—. Every year of data can be quite different, as you know, individual variations and so on, but what we are seeing consistently is that the herd…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
I think in a number of ways. Some of the earliest visits I did as Cabinet Secretary were to visit with farmers who'd been directly affected, either with, as you say, the very traumatic experience of things such as on-farm slaughter or, indeed, to examples…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Yes. In respect of Hybu Cig Cymru, I've met very recently with Hybu Cig Cymru to seek the assurances that I need as the Cabinet Secretary that the performance of Hybu Cig Cymru is on track and that they're doing what they need to do for the wider supply chain…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Yes. The answer is 'yes'. I've had close engagement, as we've heard the recent announcements, with my colleague the economy Minister as well on this issue, because it both has economic issues around this, but also the wider farming and supply chain issues. I…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Ideally, what we're looking at is before the summer recess. So, it's not going to be too long now; we're not that far away.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
It is still a commitment, and I just wonder, Gian Marco, if you want to add anything to that on that commitment. But, yes, we're still committed to doing that.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Except they haven't. And everybody in the farming community and everybody in the farming unions recognises this. We're just shy of £0.25 billion short of what we should have, and that's a lot of money in the Welsh budget. Overall we're shy, when you look at…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Well, they haven't.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
So, rather than seeing that as an excuse, it's a general reflection of the reality we are currently in. We've been at pains to make sure that the rural development programmes that we've put in place as a result, pressured by the budget situation that we have…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
So, there's the reality—
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial scrutiny - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Well, we've certainly faced—. I talk about challenges—that's been one of the biggest ones of all. Sam, this is not a criticism of you or a party political point—it genuinely isn't—but one of my deep sadnesses from the aftermath of withdrawing from the EU is…
