Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. I don't disagree with what you're saying about the support, but you will appreciate the significant demands on the health budget. Obviously, the supplementary budget is due to be published, and I'm unaware if this scheme is receiving any increase, but it may be worth waiting to see if that's the case before asking for a further statement.
Lesley Griffiths: I agree with you and I will ask the Minister for Health and Social Services to issue a written statement. We do have Rare Disease Day coming up at the end of this month, so I will ask the Minister for Health and Social Services to issue a written statement to highlight our support for rare disease, and also the progress that we are making here in Wales. In response to your first request,...
Lesley Griffiths: I don't think the way that you set that out is correct—we've already extended BTEC eligibility, for instance—but I know the Minister for Education and Welsh Language is continuing to have discussions with Qualifications Wales and will provide a statement in due course.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. You're quite right; we see far too many dog attacks, particularly on sheep and lambs, and I think it's very important. As you say, we're just—. Well, some areas have already started lambing; others are to follow. But I was really pleased to see the wildlife and rural crime commissioner's campaign, 'ewes a lead'—'use' spelt 'ewes'—which I thought was very clever. But I think...
Lesley Griffiths: High-quality green spaces and parks provide opportunities for healthy recreation, support biodiversity and reduce air pollution. The Welsh Government’s Local Places for Nature programme, and the enabling natural resources and well-being grant, have funded the creation of hundreds of local spaces, and our green flags award scheme also drives up quality.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. You do raise a very important point, and obviously my colleague the Minister for Finance and Local Government does have these discussions with local authorities, and I know the Minister for Climate Change also does, with her planning hat on, in relation to LDPs. I go back to what I was saying about Local Places for Nature; it just shows how people do really appreciate the ability...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. The Member raises the very important point, I think, that the COVID pandemic had a lot of harms apart from COVID itself, and clearly, as you say, people with some disabilities may not have been able to recognise the limits and the limitations that were put on people even outside, with how many people could get together to go for a walk, for instance. I'm not aware of any specific...
Lesley Griffiths: Our approach to supporting the rural economy is focused on delivering programme for government commitments. I have announced over £200 million of funding for rural investment schemes to support the resilience of the rural economy and our natural environment.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. As you said, we were promised not a penny less, but unfortunately, we know, as a result of the UK Government not honouring its commitment to replace EU funding to Wales, we are actually £1.1 billion worse off. And clearly it's not possible to find that significant sum of money from within our own budget, so we do know that, certainly in my portfolio, our farming sector, our rural...
Lesley Griffiths: I'm very aware of what the NFU would like me to do around the Glastir schemes. You'll be aware that I announced that they would continue to the end of 2023. Unfortunately, because of the uncertainty in our budgets and in the way that I've just described in my answer to Cefin Campbell, I'm not able to do what you would like me to do. And it is very uncertain times, made not much easier by...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you very much. I can assure the Member that, obviously, lessons were learned. Lessons always have to be learned when you have the reports that we did. You'll agree that there is a significant amount of monitoring that does go on into our rural development programme, and there were calls at the time for me to have an independent review, for instance, but I really didn't think that was...
Lesley Griffiths: You clearly outlined a very distressing situation, and I'm very sorry to hear that you and the farmer felt there was no compassion. This was actually a piece of work that we undertook, probably four years ago, where I asked the then chief veterinary officer and her team to work with farmers to see how we could avoid situations like you describe. At the time, it was deemed to be the best way...
Lesley Griffiths: Nothing has gone wrong. As the Member states, my officials are currently holding significant internal discussions to agree the parameters of the project to allow for a full procurement exercise. You'd be the first to complain if I didn't follow the appropriate rules. I am very committed to the TB Pembrokeshire project. I know you have been part of it; as you say, many volunteers have, and I'm...
Lesley Griffiths: I'm not quite sure how you expect me to make a farm be part of a pilot project. Please believe me when I say that APHA tried very, very hard to—[Interruption.] APHA tried very, very hard to get farms to be part of the first phase of the pilot project, and unfortunately we've had no takers for the second part. But to say that we haven't tried is ridiculous. The Animal and Plant Health Agency...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. You raise a very important point, and it's an issue that we take very seriously. We really would encourage livestock keepers to continue to report all incidents to the police. I think I should say that at the outset. I think it's really important that that information is recorded. But of course, what we want to see is a drop and a complete reduction in those numbers of attacks. I...
Lesley Griffiths: I have had discussions with the fisheries sector. I'm very aware of the reported decline. I do recognise they've had some unprecedented pressures due to leaving the European Union, the COVID pandemic, more recently the hyperinflation of fuel that has been caused by the war in Ukraine, and obviously then the cost-of-living crisis. I think a lot of these pressures are at play across all our...
Lesley Griffiths: The Welsh Government continues to support and encourage young people to enter the agriculture industry through programmes such as Farming Connect and Venture. The proposed sustainable farming scheme will be available to all types of farms in all parts of Wales and will support new entrants to establish sustainable agricultural businesses.
Lesley Griffiths: I've always taken a specific interest in new entrants, working with people to see what the barriers are to them going into agriculture. I have to say, education and skills hasn't been one of the barriers that's ever, I don't think, been raised with me. I've been focusing on—. I mentioned Venture in my original answer to you, which has been very successful in helping to match farmers and...
Lesley Griffiths: The Welsh Government provides support to the egg industry in south-east Wales. Funding is available through our capital grant schemes, with direct advice and support made available to farm and food businesses via our Farming Connect and Business Wales teams.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. This is obviously a very challenging time for all our farmers, and I know poultry and egg farmers are particularly reliant on feed and energy, two areas where we have seen significant rises in the costs because of agri-inflation. The egg industry—and I think you were referring to this in the first part of your question—is also calling for contract reform to prevent suppliers...
