Lesley Griffiths: Yes, absolutely. I would join you in that. And, although hunting with dogs is a non-devolved issue, my position is we would strongly oppose any moves to repeal the Hunting Act 2004 by any future UK Government. We do not wish to see the return of that barbaric, cruel and unpopular past time in Wales.
Lesley Griffiths: Certainly. I had a discussion with the animal health and welfare framework group. We look at their work programme. I can remember the last time—well, I thought I could—Newcastle United won the FA Cup, so I’m perhaps showing my age there. But you have reminded me that we need to make sure that all our legislation is up to date, and our policies, and it’s certainly something I’ll be...
Lesley Griffiths: Yes, I absolutely agree with Bethan Jenkins. As you know, this is something I’m looking at very carefully and I hope to be writing to Assembly Members, if not before recess, certainly as soon as we come back.
Lesley Griffiths: Formally.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you, Presiding Officer. I’m very pleased to be responding to this debate. Welsh Government has clearly stated its ambition to deliver a low-carbon energy system for Wales. In doing this, we have committed to deliver the maximum benefits for Wales from this transition and protect the most vulnerable. So, I very much welcome the work that has been done on developing the Ynni Cymru...
Lesley Griffiths: In March, I committed the final tranche of the 2014-20 rural development programme to make full use of the current UK Treasury guarantee. However, what is clearly needed is for the UK Government to honour the commitment that Wales would not lose a penny as a result of EU exit.
Lesley Griffiths: Since 2011, we have invested over £217 million in Welsh Government Warm Homes Nest and Arbed schemes, improving the energy efficiency of over 39,000 homes. We are investing a further £104 million over the next four years to improve an additional 25,000 homes.
Lesley Griffiths: Footpath and bridleway maintenance is primarily the responsibility of local authorities. Paths connect communities, provide opportunities for healthy recreation and support tourism. The Welsh Government provides financial support to local authorities to deliver path improvements. This funding has made over 9,000 km of paths easier to use.
Lesley Griffiths: TB is a very complex disease. The information on the dashboard comes directly from our epidemiology team, who are experts on the disease. The dashboard shows the disease situation at a national and regional level and presents data in a visual way to make the information easier to understand.
Lesley Griffiths: Electric vehicles offer a potential long-term solution to improving urban air quality. We are working closely across the Welsh Government to assess all options for emission improvements.
Lesley Griffiths: Progress has been made on the biocontrol of Japanese knotweed using psyllid stocks from Japan. An improved delivery method has resulted in better survival of the psyllids, which is a key development in tackling Japanese knotweed. Further releases of the psyllid are planned later in 2017.
Lesley Griffiths: Diolch, Llywydd. This debate is about the contribution our areas of outstanding natural beauty and national parks make to Wales. Together, they cover nearly a quarter of Wales, and the debate is about how they can, and must, deliver more. All landscapes have a special value to people. They create and sustain a sense of place for our communities, for the people who live and work in them, and...
Lesley Griffiths: Diolch, Llywydd. I’d like to thank all Members who’ve taken part in this debate and I will try and respond to many of the points raised. The substantial work undertaken, firstly by Professor Terry Marsden and his panel and then subsequently by Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas and the working group, now positions the designated landscapes in a role that I think can help address increasingly complex...
Lesley Griffiths: Yes.
Lesley Griffiths: No, I’m not complacent at all, and I hope, in my opening remarks, I made that very clear. I will come back to the Sandford principle because, obviously, several Members have raised that in their contributions. If I can start with Simon Thomas’s contribution: you specifically mentioned about RSPB Cymru, who were represented on the working group. Other people have said to me that it does...
Lesley Griffiths: Absolutely, and you mentioned specifically areas in I think it was the Gower, going forward. Our designated landscapes should not only have clarity of purpose, but I think they must have very efficient and effective governance arrangements, and people have referred to that. As I say, I will bring more views forward following the consultation that closes at the end of the month. The Future...
Lesley Griffiths: Diolch, Llywydd. I very much welcome Plaid Cymru’s motion, and we were very pleased we were able to agree with Plaid Cymru our White Paper, ‘Securing Wales’ Future’. It is clear our views on the future of agriculture and rural development post Brexit are close. Most importantly, we are absolutely clear agriculture and rural development is and must remain devolved. We’ve made it very...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I would like to begin by thanking the members of the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee for their report on our TB eradication programme. I formally responded to the report this morning, and was particularly pleased to see the committee’s recommendations were in line with our proposals, which were consulted on late last year....
Lesley Griffiths: Along with these new measures we also need to be prudent with our budgets, especially with the future loss of European funding. It is important we prevent slaughtered animals being overvalued, because it increases the cost to the taxpayer. I am concerned our average compensation payments are 60 per cent higher than in England, so I am reducing the compensation cap to £5,000 and reviewing our...
Lesley Griffiths: I thank Paul Davies for his broad welcome for the refreshed TB eradication programme. You started off by talking about targets, and you’ll be aware that I responded this morning to the recommendations made by the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee. I think it was recommendations 1 and 2 that were around targets, and I was very happy to accept those recommendations. I...
