Llyr Gruffydd: We are all now aware of the mess that the UK Government has made in dealing with the shellfish industry. We don't need to rehearse that sad history, but it is having a detrimental impact on the viability of the sector here in Wales. Prior to Brexit, shellfish producers could export their produce to the Netherlands so that it could be prepared there for the main market, namely the nations of...
Llyr Gruffydd: Before we begin this debate on the future of the fishing industry in Wales, I would like to take a moment just to remember the three fishermen from north Wales who are still missing today, and to send our best wishes to the family. Allan Minard, Ross Ballantine and Carl McGrath, as well as their boat, Nicola Faith, disappeared in January off the north Wales coast, and I would like to extend...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, and thank you for the opportunity to bring forward this short debate on the future of sea fishing in Wales, and I have agreed to give a minute of my time to Janet Finch-Saunders, who will contribute to this debate too.
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. I just wanted to pick up on the assertion that the Welsh Government is actually providing sufficient funds for farmers to respond to these new requirements. I make it around £11.5 million that's being provided. According to the Government's own estimates, that would just about cover the needs of Anglesey alone, let alone the rest of Wales. The low-cost-scenario...
Llyr Gruffydd: Okay. They are impractical regulations, they are regulations that can't be delivered without creating economic and environmental disruption to farms across Wales, and they will come into force a week before the original day that this Senedd is to come to an end. There's an election in a matter of weeks; don't rush these regulations through. Take a step back and reconsider.
Llyr Gruffydd: Members will be aware that I tabled a motion to annul these regulations that will be debated and voted on next week, but it's good to have an opportunity to air some of the arguments as we prepare for that important vote. Of course, we will be supporting this motion today. I oppose these regulations not because there is no water quality problem in some parts of Wales; I oppose these...
Llyr Gruffydd: You say in your statement that 'we need to keep Welsh farmers on the land'— I couldn't agree more with that, of course— 'by further strengthening their reputation for high animal welfare and environmental standards, supporting the whole supply chain to increase the value of the goods they produce.' Well, of course, one thing that has to be central to that is growing our processing...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Llywydd, and I thank the Minister for the statement. It's crucial, of course, that there is a specific framework for rural support in Wales, with specific measures to support rural development in order to provide for the viability of our rural areas. In doing so, it's also important that the Government's approach delivers across the aims and objectives outlined in the...
Llyr Gruffydd: You will be aware that Berwyn prison has been harshly criticised by the independent monitoring board last year for failing to provide for Welsh-speaking prisoners, and had denied certain rights to those prisoners because they were Welsh speaking. Now, six months later, the prison has confirmed, in correspondence with me, that they don't even know how many of their own staff are able to...
Llyr Gruffydd: 8. Will the First Minister make a statement on the use of the Welsh language in Berwyn prison in Wrexham? OQ56309
Llyr Gruffydd: Well, NRW threw that one at you and you chose to ignore them, because they suggested an 8 per cent coverage for NVZs. It suits you sometimes to listen to their advice, but other times not, evidently. Look, this latest episode, I would say, represents the final breakdown in the relationship between your Government and the agricultural community, because time and time again you've been more...
Llyr Gruffydd: I feel that you haven't been listening to a single word I've been saying for the last two years, Minister. Nobody is denying that there is a problem that needs to be addressed; the issue here is the answer that you're proposing. It just isn't practical and it isn't proportionate and it, frankly, isn't going to work. Evidence from elsewhere around Europe, where the NVZ approach has been...
Llyr Gruffydd: I've heard it said that you promised seven times not to introduce these NVZ regulations during the pandemic. I've actually found over 10 times where you have explicitly, on the Record to this Plenary or to Senedd committees, made it clear that you would not introduce these regulations during the COVID pandemic. Now, on the very day that the Chief Medical Officer for Wales declared, in a...
Llyr Gruffydd: Thank you very much, Llywydd. The committee took evidence from the Minister on these regulations as part of our scrutiny of the draft budget. I will be focusing on LTT tax bands and tax rates regulations. We heard from the Minister that there were two major decisions for making these regulations: firstly, to increase the rates of tax paid on the higher residential rates in order to generate...
Llyr Gruffydd: No.
Llyr Gruffydd: No. Apologies, Deputy Presiding Officer, there's been a—[Inaudible.]
Llyr Gruffydd: May I ask for an oral statement from the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs on the response to the recent flooding in communities across Wales? Of course, I welcome the commitment to provide financial support to the homes and businesses affected, and we need assurances that that will be paid immediately and not in two months' time, as happened in similar cases last year, of...
Llyr Gruffydd: Well, the Welsh Government, of course, has just announced a settlement of 2.3 per cent to Wrexham County Borough Council, the second lowest in Wales. And, as you've just said, this is partially based on new population projections for the county. Now, if these new projections are correct, namely that the population is static, rather than increasing significantly, why is the planning department...
Llyr Gruffydd: 3. Will the First Minister make a statement on using population estimates as a basis for local council funding allocations? OQ56233
Llyr Gruffydd: I am, of course, going to support the motion. The motion would have been very different, I'm sure, had it not been tabled before the flooding that we've seen in recent days, but it is an opportunity to look at the responses that are required. Of course, I did call for financial support for those affected over the last week, and I'm very pleased that the Government has committed to the same...
