, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Thank you, Gareth. The Environment (Wales) Act 2016 requires robust monitoring and reporting of our environment through the 'State of Natural Resources Report'. Our environment and rural affairs monitoring and modelling programme provides further evidence at…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Thank you very much, Joyce. I'm glad to see there's real support from all Members of the Senedd here to alleviate these problems for local residents. It is unacceptable and it has to be dealt with. Can I just be as absolutely clear here as I possibly can be?…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Thank you, Paul. First of all, at the outset, can I just reiterate my empathy with those residents who have been having to suffer what they've had to suffer for the past weeks and months there? This needs a resolution, I absolutely, entirely agree with you…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Thank you, Paul. Protecting and improving our environment in Pembrokeshire and across Wales is a priority for this Government. We have provided Natural Resources Wales with powers to take strong action to regulate and enforce environmental controls at…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Sam, in answer to your closing question there, 'No, we haven't', because we'll determine the cost of it when we've done the final design, as I mentioned yesterday. I'm very keen to keep engaging with you and all Members on this as we take this forward, but…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Indeed, Adam, we're very, very keen to continue our support for the organic sector and will keep on talking to those who want to continue farming organically as well. You rightly draw attention to the fact that, outside of the support that we provide to those…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Indeed. Thank you, Adam. The difference in payment rates reflects the costs incurred and the income forgone for undertaking organic farming practices in the four different land use categories. The scheme offers higher payment rates on land where the greatest…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
A very good point to end on. I think the way that we do this is—I know it wasn't meant in the question—rather than write out a strategy, it's a plan we're already involved in. It does mean consistently arguing the case, whether it's in letter or in bilateral…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Delyth, thank you very much for that question. The global trends are incredibly worrying, and we're not immune from this. We can see this in the recent mapping that was done in Wales in terms of flood and coastal inundation, which was the latest set of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Thank you, Janet, for moving on to the particular matter that is causing high concern around the Withyhedge landfill site. If you'll excuse me, I'll choose not to conflate it with, again, the wider political points that you're making, because, on the ground…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Well, Llywydd, today on the Senedd floor, the privilege we have to be here, there are 101 important environmental matters that could have been brought to my attention by Janet as the frontbench spokesman. Rather than that, she's focused on issues that the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Well, Janet, can I deal with the substance of your question rather than the political points that you're making? The substance of your question is to do with the environmental governance within Wales, and it is a factor of our withdrawal from the EU that we…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Jack, we will, of course, continue that engagement. My thanks for your engagement in this role, with your chairmanship of that group as well, which is a very well-loved cross-party group, I have to say, here in the Senedd. We'll continue that engagement, but…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Thank you, Luke, and I get a feeling I'm going to get some invitation from Bang-On Brewery at some time to go down and visit their premises. I'll clearly be hugely reluctant to take up that invitation—no, I'll definitely accept it, if it does come. But just…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Well, a couple of points to make in response, Tom. First of all, not only are we keen to engage, but we have been engaging, and I've had two or three round-tables, including with the supply chain, including with brewers, the retail and hospitality sector…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
I will, Tom, and thank you. On 25 April, a joint statement on the deposit-return scheme was published, outlining the interoperability positions agreed by all four nations. Having worked closely with England and Northern Ireland on the development of their…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Thank you, Mark, for that supplementary, and this isn't an either/or because climate justice and social justice are our twin economic missions and achieving both of them requires collaboration. For our part, the just transition to net zero is at the very…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Thank you, Siân. I cannot make comments on specific cases. But, as the First Minister made clear yesterday, our general policy does not support the construction of new power plants that are fossil-fuel powered. We must reduce fossil fuel emissions and…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: The future of farming in Wales
Okay, no pressure. [Laughter.] Look, I can give you that genuine assurance that the work in some ways only starts today, because, now, this is really the business end of delivering an SFS that is not only coherent and comprehensive, and sets an approach now…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: The future of farming in Wales
Thank you, Vikki, and thank you for those suggestions as well. We will certainly consider, going forward, how we get that balance right with the optional and collaborative, and where we can learn from previous schemes. And we will certainly make sure that in…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: The future of farming in Wales
Thank you, Sam. Listen, I'd echo the thanks to all those organisations who made submissions to the consultation but who also engaged, including in the run-up to the protest. And I've said previously, I think, in terms of Senedd Cymru, Welsh Parliament, people…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: The future of farming in Wales
Alun, thank you very much. I will take that compliment, and particularly from a former agricultural Minister himself, and the time I genuinely enjoyed working with you when I was UK environment Minister and we sat across the table in Brussels and so…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: The future of farming in Wales
That's a great final question there, Jane. Thank you. I like your terminology there on a 'reset'. There's an enormous amount of work been done on this already—seven years of discussions, consultations, roadshows, whatever. We've got to a place where we do…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: The future of farming in Wales
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Mabon. Can I turn, first of all, to the BVD issue? I can give you a further update to the question you raised the other day. First of all, we fully understand and appreciate the very serious impact of BVD, not just on standards of animal…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: The future of farming in Wales
Thank you very much, Russell. First of all, on the carbon sequestration and the 10 per cent trees, we've set up a panel deliberately to look at that. So, as opposed to ruling anything out, we want to consider those other options as part of that work that…
