Lesley Griffiths: Diolch, Llywydd. I move the motion to approve the Alcoholic Beverages (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2023. Welsh Government agreed to participate in a joint targeted exercise with the UK and Scottish Governments, which concluded on 23 November 2022, regarding three minor proposed changes to retained EU law on how wine is described and marketed as part of the UK free trade agreement with New...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. Well, I would hope that the whole of the programme will. I think it's really important. You can't just take one piece of the jigsaw, and it is indeed a jigsaw, and I go back to what I was saying about everyone having their part to play. So, obviously, we bring the policy forward. It's really important that the farmer looks at informed purchasing. It's really important that the...
Lesley Griffiths: Diolch, Mabon, for those questions and points. I absolutely understand your opening remarks around the distress and stress caused, and I think you've just explained very clearly why we really all need to work together to ensure that we do realise our ambitions of having a TB-free Wales; at the very latest, 2041, but obviously, the earlier we can do it, the better it will be for us all. I...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you very much, Sam Kurtz, for your welcoming of the statement and the delivery plan, and, also, for your words of support, and I'm grateful for the work you did in Pembrokeshire on our behalf. Just to reassure Sam Kurtz and every other Member, and, indeed, every farmer in Wales, I would never be complacent. While you're quite right that the long-term disease statistics do show progress,...
Lesley Griffiths: The picture of bovine TB in Wales is ever changing, but the important long-term trends show good progress. Between 2009 and December 2022, new TB incidents fell by 49 per cent in Welsh herds while prevalence decreased by 32 per cent. Regionally, there is variation, mainly due to pockets of disease where we are developing or have already taken forward enhanced measures, for example a more...
Lesley Griffiths: Diolch, Llywydd. I last provided Senedd Members with an update on the TB eradication programme in July 2022, setting out our direction of travel and progress after consulting on an enhanced approach in late 2021. I outlined my intent to commence action in several areas prior to launching a refreshed TB delivery plan, including new governance arrangements for the programme and preliminary...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. The Member raises a very important point and something that concerns me greatly, and we have done some significant work in relation to it. You mentioned the north Wales rural crime team, and I absolutely agree, along with the other two across the country, that they do some excellent work. And, of course, we've got Rob Taylor, our rural wildlife crime commissioner, who just...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. Well, as you know, the Welsh Government continues to press for the UK Government to call Northern Powerhouse rail exactly what it is, and that's an England-only project, and the same with HS2. I think it would be interesting for Members to see the significant funding that we haven't received in Wales, and I will certainly ask the Deputy Minister, if he has all that information to...
Lesley Griffiths: Well, I don't read The Daily Telegraph, and I'd advise the Member not to either. I think you make a serious point about Rhyl and, as somebody from north-east Wales, I know Rhyl very well. And you're quite right—some significant funding has gone into the regeneration of Rhyl, and certainly your predecessor, Ann Jones, always ensured that, for whatever money was around, Rhyl was absolutely at...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. In relation to the additional funding for swimming pools, as you say, the UK Government budget did announce further funding for that. As a Cabinet, we are looking at the additional funding that came forward from the spring budget, and obviously decisions will be made collectively. In relation to the £155 million, obviously that was our money. As a Government, we had plans for how...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. Welsh Ministers do not have a formal role in determining executive pay for Wales's water companies, but the Welsh Government does monitor pay and performance, and we do expect relevant remuneration committees to reflect very carefully on performance and delivery against the breadth of current water sector and environmental challenges that need to be addressed—and you pointed one...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. You raise a very important point. Obviously, while we want to see tourism absolutely boom here in Wales, unfortunately, as is often the case, the minority spoil it for the majority. I know the Deputy Minister has recently taken tourism into her portfolio and is looking at a variety of issues around tourism, and I'm sure she'll be very happy to update us via a written statement.
Lesley Griffiths: The Welsh Government allocates a great deal of funding to local authorities, on a great number of schemes, so I'm not aware of the particular grant that you refer to. But I'm sure the Member would expect—and it is, indeed, the case—that there are very strict criteria, and it's not something that you can just leave to chance. I would think that it's probably best to write to the Minister...
Lesley Griffiths: The Deputy Minister for Climate Change recently issued a written statement on the Welsh Government's plans for improving rural transport. This confirmed that we would be submitting a proposal shortly to the UK Government's union connectivity fund to develop plans to increase capacity across the Cambrian and Heart of Wales rail lines, and, in doing so, increase cross-border connectivity. I...
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. We know, not just in our community hospitals, but in our district general hospitals as well, that delayed transfers of care are causing a great deal of consternation with bed capacity. Obviously, this is something that the Minister for Health and Social Services is looking at across the piece.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. In relation to your second point, the Deputy Minister is in her seat and has heard your questions. I'm sure she is, and will continue to be, committed to working both with the third sector and any other service provider or organisation in supporting our veterans. Regarding the blue badge scheme, I am aware that, obviously, the system was looked at holistically—it was probably...
Lesley Griffiths: Diolch, Llywydd. There are three changes to this week's business. Firstly, the Minister for Economy will make a statement on the free-port programme in Wales. To accommodate this, the statement on the taxi and private hire vehicle White Paper has been withdrawn. Finally, the legislative consent debate on the Procurement Bill will consist of two motions rather than one. Draft business for...
Lesley Griffiths: I don't think they're disconnected at all. What I've been really keen to do with the rural investment schemes is for our stakeholders to work very closely with us and that they tell us what they want. For instance, we had, I think, three schemes specifically around horticulture, because that's what I was being told people wanted. Of course, you can tell by the number of bids you get with...
Lesley Griffiths: Future rural development support focuses on delivering our core programme for government commitments. I have already announced a package of support through my rural investment schemes worth over £200 million to support the rural economy and our natural environment.
Lesley Griffiths: Thank you. Clearly, the Member didn't hear my answer to Vikki Howells—we didn't introduce Lucy's law here in Wales; that's England-only legislation. We went beyond that; we brought forward the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Wales) Regulations 2021, and, as I say, that went further than Lucy's law. The point you make around the local authority enforcement project...
