Lesley Griffiths: I thank Simon Thomas for his questions. I’ve already said that I think we cannot speculate as to the cause of it. Once the incident has been concluded, which I hope will be very soon, that’s the time, then, for NRW and HSE to carry out a full investigation. I would like to assure Members that I did ask NRW if, at the current time, they felt they had additional resources to manage this...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. The rural development programme is the main mechanism for supporting Wales’s farmers, including smaller upland holdings and marginal farms, such as those in the Cynon Valley, through agri-environment and investment schemes where they are eligible and qualify. Support is also available through Glastir and Farming Connect.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you, and I’m very pleased you took up the farming union’s invitations to visit farms in your constituency. Welsh Government officials have regular and very productive engagement with farming stakeholders on Glastir, and that includes, obviously, the farming unions. European Commission rules require agri-environment support to pay for activities that exceed usual farming practice, so...
Lesley Griffiths: Those discussions, you’ll appreciate, four months into this term of Government, are at very early stages, so I can’t give you a date when it will be available. I’ve started to have discussions with my Cabinet colleagues around this. I suppose early thinking is looking at perhaps small pieces of equipment, for instance, through capital grants, but, as I say, it is very early days.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. As with many parts of Wales, flood risk in Clwyd West comes from rivers, sea and surface water. To reduce this risk, Clwyd West has benefited from more than £20 million of investment over the past five years, including work at Colwyn Bay, Ruthin and Kinmel Bay.
Lesley Griffiths: Well, we don’t provide those types of grants to individual homeowners; rather, we focus on funding much larger schemes to benefit groups of properties or communities. We do support property-level resilience, when brought forward, as an appropriate solution by local authorities or by Natural Resources Wales, and we provide grant funding for that purpose. I think what we’re doing is...
Lesley Griffiths: Yes, I’ve had discussions with the tidal lagoon company, and one of the advantages they referred to, when talking about the possible tidal lagoon around the Colwyn Bay area, was the fact that it would offer resilience against flooding. So, again, those discussions are ongoing.
Lesley Griffiths: Well, I wasn’t being particularly specific. What I think I was saying was that when we have a look, and when we unpick—I think I mentioned that there are 5,000 pieces of legislation within my portfolio in relation to agriculture and fisheries—when we unpick them and we are looking at Welsh specific going forward, it could be that we would strengthen some of the legislation or regulations.
Lesley Griffiths: The member is correct—we are obviously out to consultation at the moment. In fact, just last Monday, 10 October, my officials met with representatives of the National Farmers Union in Pembrokeshire to discuss this, along with local farmers also from Pembrokeshire, and I have to say I’ve been told it was a very positive meeting. I think farmers are very keen to consider how best to stop...
Lesley Griffiths: I do appreciate that there could be an increased cost to certain parts of the farming community. They will have to be taken into account when we look at the full impact assessment that would accompany any new regulations. And I think we have to look at any increased costs that have to be weighed against the benefits to the environment.
Lesley Griffiths: Certainly, we’re looking at which windows we can open. I want to get as many windows open as soon as possible to ensure we draw down as much funding as possible.
Lesley Griffiths: I’ve had those discussions with the farmers myself, certainly over the summer at the agricultural shows I visited, and with individual farmers, and we are working very hard to ensure that funding gets to them as quickly as possible.
Lesley Griffiths: I don’t have that information to hand but I’m happy to write to the Member with that information.
Lesley Griffiths: I can certainly confirm that the 40 per cent reduction target by 2020 still stands absolutely for this Government also. I’m looking at the implementation of the environment Act going forward, but, again I don’t have that date to hand, but I’d be very happy to let you know.
Lesley Griffiths: Well, not everything is in the programme for government, I should say that, but absolutely that target still stands. But it is incredibly challenging, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that. In relation to the carbon budget, I’m currently meeting all my Cabinet colleagues to discuss how, across Government, each of their portfolios is helping to reduce our emissions. The carbon budgeting process...
Lesley Griffiths: Well, it does seem that we can’t win. Last term, we were criticised for having too big a document for our programme for government and this time we’re criticised for it being too thin. Perhaps next time the Welsh Labour Government will have the absolute perfect one. I think that you do raise an important issue around Paris, and I will be representing Wales at the COP22 in Marrakech next...
Lesley Griffiths: We have been absolutely clear about our commitment to provide support to deliver successful and sustainable rural communities across Wales. We co-finance our rural development programme with the European Union and so expect the UK Government to provide an unconditional guarantee to fund all projects contracted under the programme for their lifetime.
Lesley Griffiths: It is.
Lesley Griffiths: I can say that, yes, I am responsible for planning. Certainly, in my discussions with farmers, they haven’t raised too many concerns about TAN 6. In fact, they are very grateful and happy that it’s there. But I think that consistency is absolutely correct, and obviously we have 25 planning authorities across Wales and, with anything like that, I think you always get a level of...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. Biosecurity is our first line of defence against serious notifiable infectious diseases like foot and mouth disease or bovine TB. It should be a vital part of daily farming life, helping to ensure that animals stay healthy and that businesses remain profitable.
