Lesley Griffiths: That can be part of our programmes. You will be aware of the farming business grants that we’ve just brought forward. That’s not just available to young farmers, it’s available to all farmers, and I know that when it was launched recently young farmers were telling me that that was really helpful for them, because if they wanted a piece of equipment that they couldn’t afford, they...
Lesley Griffiths: I don’t recognise those figures. I’m not sure if you said that they were DEFRA’s figures, because I don’t think that is the case in Wales—that significant drop. I don’t like the word ‘crisis’. I do understand that it’s very difficult for young farmers if they’re not part of a farming family—if they want to come into farming cold, if you like, it’s very difficult for...
Lesley Griffiths: Well, I have given that assurance to farmers. I’ve been in post for just a year now, and certainly I’ve made it very clear that we cannot envisage a time when our agricultural sector would not need that support. As to how the basic payment scheme will look post Brexit, as I say, it depends on the funding that we get, but, like you, I think we should get every penny that we were promised....
Lesley Griffiths: Well, I do try to be a glass half full, rather than a glass half empty, so I am really trying to embrace the opportunities that I do think are there when you look. I was a passionate remainer and nothing will make me believe that leaving, that Brexit is good for us, but we do have to look for those opportunities. Regulations were one of the reasons cited to me by farmers as to why—I won’t...
Lesley Griffiths: Before I come onto quarantine units, just picking up your first point about approachability, certainly, I want to have those discussions with the sector and one of the reasons I set up the stakeholder group straight after the referendum last June—I think we met on 4 July for the first time—was to make sure that we brought the agriculture and environment sectors together. I thought it was...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. Whilst air quality in Wales is improving, hotspots remain. As we work to finalise a new clean air zone framework for Wales, all sectors and representative bodies—in particular in the private sector—are viewed as active stakeholders. Their involvement in this work will be essential.
Lesley Griffiths: The health of people and the environment of Wales go absolutely hand in hand and I am committed to protecting the people and the environment of Wales. My officials and certainly health officials, and particularly the Minister for social services’ officials, work very closely together and we revised the new guidance that you’re probably aware of on the local air quality management. We’re...
Lesley Griffiths: As you say, we need to do some significant work around this and you will have heard me say it’s absolutely a priority for me. You know we’ve recently had a consultation and I have to say the consultation was, in general, supportive of the action that we’re taking. We reaffirm the importance of reducing public exposure to air pollution by making the average concentration of nitrogen...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. The Welsh Government’s aim is to prevent littering from occurring in the first place. We support and fund a range of programmes focusing on education, improving enforcement action, and community engagement and involvement. By encouraging people to take pride in their environment we will achieve longer lasting improvements.
Lesley Griffiths: I’m sure most Members in the Chamber will recognise what you’re saying. Our postbags are often full of such complaints and I certainly congratulate Pembrokeshire on having the cleanest streets, and it’s really important that that best practice is shared out. You’ll be aware of many schemes we have. We support Keep Wales Tidy, for instance, and I know they recently undertook a survey...
Lesley Griffiths: I certainly think we need to reduce packaging and I was horrified to see—my daughter bought something from a very well-known company that I won’t mention, and I think that the article was this size and the packaging was absolutely enormous and it made me get onto officials straight away to remind them that this is something that I think we really need to look at. And what we’re going to...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. The better management and use of our wealth of natural resources, together with the more efficient use of those resources in circulation, is a key component of our circular economy approach and commitment to green growth and reducing Wales’s ecological footprint.
Lesley Griffiths: Yes, I would agree with that statement. Certainly, I was looking at a cycling path in my own constituency of Wrexham and it just ended; it didn’t carry on. So, I did wonder what somebody would do when they were cycling along—you know, where would they go? So, I think all local authorities need to look very carefully at the provision that they have for cyclists and do all they can to...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. Natural Resources Wales are responsible for assessing risk of flooding from rivers and the sea. The local flood risk management plan further sets out how risk will be managed. A £7 million flood-risk management scheme was completed in 2015, significantly reducing risk to the lower Swansea vale.
Lesley Griffiths: Yes, I’m very pleased that my colleague the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government was able to bring forward a Government amendment at Stage 2 of the Landfill Disposals Tax (Wales) Bill to ensure a relief from the tax is available to material removed from the water in the interests of flood prevention. I think that was a very important amendment. Certainly, you’ll be aware of...
Lesley Griffiths: I think Suzy Davies raises a very important point. I will have to write to you as to the frequency as to how often flood plans are reassessed.
Lesley Griffiths: I know that’s something that planning officials are working on with the local authorities, and obviously NRW are part of that campaign. It’s very important that all these issues are taken into account, and I’m constantly looking at the planning policies to make sure local authorities have the correct guidance at hand.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. We have a large number of policies and programmes delivering green growth, such as Green Growth Wales. We’ve been working to decarbonise the public sector, and we provide flexible support to businesses, domestic energy efficiency programmes, and support for low-carbon developments, from community scale to centralised generation.
Lesley Griffiths: Commercial timber operations are absolutely a high priority for Natural Resources Wales, and just last week I met with the Confederation of Forest Industries and ensured there was an NRW representative there to hear their concerns. This year, NRW are restocking more than 1,200 hectares on the Welsh Government’s woodland estate, and that compares very favourably, I think, with any of the...
Lesley Griffiths: The ‘Wales Animal Health & Welfare Framework—Achieving High Standards Together’ explains the approach we are taking to achieve continued and lasting improvements in standards of animal health and welfare across Wales. The annual implementation plan sets out specific actions we are taking forward in any 12-month period.
