Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. Welsh Government funds the Fly-tipping Action Wales programme, led by Natural Resources Wales. The programme continues to support Newport City Council in tackling fly-tipping. This includes supporting them with investigating and prosecuting fly-tippers. Work is ongoing to identify solutions to stop fly-tipping at particular locations within the Newport area.
Lesley Griffiths: Farmers within Preseli Pembrokeshire have received over £17 million of basic payment scheme payments during the past year, as well as funding via the Welsh dairy support scheme. Our Farming Connect service also continues to provide support and advice to farmers.
Lesley Griffiths: Welsh Government continues to support a number of initiatives to develop new green spaces, as well as improve the quality of established ones. For example, our Local Places for Nature fund has created over 380 butterfly, wildlife and community growing gardens in and around urban areas this year.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Achieving a greener Wales will rely on the commitment and expertise of our farmers. They have a unique role in producing high-quality food at the same time as protecting habitat, safeguarding our irreplaceable soils, capturing carbon and cleaning our air and water for the benefit of human health and, of course, the health of our planet. The need...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the motion. The regulations amend the Official Controls (Plant Health and Genetically Modified Organisms) (Wales) Regulations 2020, which gave effect to Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council on protective measures against pests of plants and Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council on...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. In relation to heat pumps, one of the issues we have had—and as you say, why we're not using that technology more—is around supply, and I think as we see more supply come to the fore, we will be able to do that, and certainly I mentioned in an earlier answer around different boilers being phased out, that is something that we will have to seek to improve on. In relation to the...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you, Paul. I certainly welcomed the report that was published by the committee in April, and I've accepted all 21 of their recommendations. And I think the evidence that the committee took really chimed with the evidence that was taken as we developed the draft plan. And I think the plan that I published today illustrates where we've amended our actions so that we can take into account...
Lesley Griffiths: I don't disagree with Mike Hedges at all. Of course, if you are living in fuel poverty, you will probably be in food poverty and other types of poverty. And, having been the Minister for tackling poverty a few years ago, again, it needs that cross-Government approach that Helen Mary Jones referred to to ensure that all Ministers are looking at their own policies and protocols and portfolios...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you, Helen Mary Jones, for those comments and questions. I think you make a really important point around skills, and certainly, as we come out of the pandemic and we have that green recovery and that reconstruction, it's really important that in our efforts to tackle fuel poverty, which have been hampered over the past year particularly, we ensure that skills and jobs are an important...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you, Mark Isherwood, for that list of questions. In relation to the interim targets, I am of course aware of the call for interim targets, but I have to say, most proposals within today's plan were welcomed by our stakeholders. I think to set interim targets now, over a shorter time frame, would prove to be a really futile exercise, until we can better understand the impact of the...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Our plan to tackle fuel poverty, published today, reaffirms our commitment to deliver social justice in the transition to a net-zero economy in Wales. Our commitment to tackling fuel poverty has been consistent over the long term, with our Warm Homes programme investing more than £350 million over 10 years, benefiting more than 60,000 households. This...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you, Llyr, for bringing this topic for short debate today. And I too, again, would like to send my thoughts to the families of the crew of the Nicola Faith at this very difficult time. In talking about the future of the sea fishing industry, it is impossible to ignore the current issues facing the sector. Our seafood industry has been severely...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. As a Government, we support the ambition of Welsh farmers to be the most climate and nature friendly in the world, building on a reputation for high animal welfare standards, high environmental standards and the high quality of the food they produce. This ambition is under threat because of the ecological and reputational damage caused by...
Lesley Griffiths: Formally.
Lesley Griffiths: Absolutely. Welsh Water Dŵr Cymru are a valued partner in relation to this work, and whenever we have a—. You will have heard me just say in my answer to Adam Price that I met with him and a range of partners, and Welsh Water were part of that. But it is really important after any flooding event, we know how heartbreaking—. If your home is flooded, it's very, very stressful and very...
Lesley Griffiths: Diolch, Adam Price, and if we can just focus on Pontargothi, first of all, as you know, we met with a range of partners in relation to the flooding that happened, unfortunately, in your constituency. And I should just say there's no threshold set in statute when it comes to a section 19 report. We expect if 20 houses have been flooded that that local authority, or that flood risk management...
Lesley Griffiths: Diolch. On 27 January, Welsh Government announced a further £6.5 million funding to support local authorities to respond to severe weather events. This includes support for households who suffered flooding in their homes or were evacuated, with payments of up to £1,000 administered by local authorities.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you, Llyr, for those questions and comments. I think what you were saying about the well-being of future generations Act is absolutely vital, and it's really important that the future RDP responds broadly to it, as you say, to enable social, economic, environmental and cultural opportunities across rural sectors. And I think, in my opening statement, I did refer to that. It has to fit...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you, Janet Finch-Saunders, for those lists of observations and comments and questions. You talked about disallowance and allegations against RDP projects, and I am, obviously, aware of those. Appropriate and proportionate checks are taken to ensure that eligible expenditure is reimbursed, and that includes recovery of payments that have been made during the lifetime of a project, and I...
Lesley Griffiths: The sustainable management scheme is delivering whole-landscape nature restoration in every part of Wales. This includes connecting and restoring dune habitats, trialling natural flood management to improve our climate resilience whilst creating woodland and wetland habitats, restoring hundreds of hectares of peatlands, and connecting thousands of people to the landscapes in their areas by...
