I now call on the party spokespeople to ask questions to the Cabinet Secretary, and, first this week, the Welsh Conservatives’ spokesperson, Paul Davies.

Diolch, Lywydd. Cabinet Secretary, in a meeting of the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee on 14 September, you responded to a question on farming regulations, saying that you’ll look to strengthen regulations in some areas when looking at Welsh-specific requirements going forward. Can you clarify what you mean by ‘strengthen’ and tell us what specific regulations you’re actually looking to introduce in the very near future?

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.

Thank you for that clarification. Of course, one set of regulations that the Welsh Government is looking at is in relation to nitrate vulnerable zones. Now, you won’t be surprised that I’ve received plenty of correspondence on this matter, and there are serious concerns regarding these proposals, which could impose huge burdens on farmers and, as a result, force many out of business due to the financial implications, and farmers will see this as just another blow to the agricultural community. I appreciate that these proposals are currently at a consultation stage, but how is the Welsh Government working with farmers affected to ensure that they fully understand the cost and the impact that these regulations will have on their businesses, and will you confirm whether any financial support will be made available to farmers who will face additional costs as a result of complying with any new regulations?

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 excessive nitrate pollution in waterways, and they were very happy to bring forward their views. Obviously, all views will be taken into account. So, I’m very pleased you’ve received significant correspondence, and I would urge your constituents to take part in the consultation.

I’m grateful to you for that response, but I’m sure that you would agree with me that regulations can, in some cases, represent an obstacle to efficient farming practices and business growth. Therefore, in light of the previous Government’s ‘Working Smarter’ report, will you commit to evaluating the costs attached to farming regulations in Wales and look at ways in which the Welsh Government can ease regulations, thereby lowering the cost of them to farmers, ahead of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union?

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.

The UKIP spokesperson, Neil Hamilton.

Diolch, Lywydd. The Welsh Government, quite rightly accepts that farmers should receive payments for carrying out environmentally responsible tasks. That’s important to all of us, whether we’re farmers or not. As the Cabinet Secretary will know, important agri-environment schemes are the Glastir Entry and Glastir Commons schemes, and that’s vitally important to many upland farmers for income support at a time of falling farm incomes. Now that the Treasury has slightly, at least, clarified post-Brexit funding, will she be prepared to consider opening a new window for Glastir Entry and Glastir Commons applications, and allow those that are in Glastir Entry already to extend their contracts beyond five years?

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.

I’m grateful to the Cabinet Secretary for that reply. As she’ll be aware, there are about 1,600 farmers who will be left high and dry from this December if the scheme is not extended, and, if the policy doesn’t change, there’ll be about another 3,000 who will be affected in future years. This scheme is widely held to be a successor to the end of the Tir Mynydd scheme, and £25 million was transferred from one budget to another as part of this. Many farmers think it’s a bit of a betrayal that the window of opportunity has been closed for some time, and, therefore, would she agree with me that it is vitally important that it be reopened?

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.

Thank you. Moving to another environmental scheme—section 15 agreements for sites of special scientific interest. On average, farmers get about £2,175 a year in payments under these agreements, and they are absolutely vital for the protection of landscape, wildlife and the environment. There is a budget cut from 2011 of about a quarter of the budget. In August, Natural Resources Wales said only about 118 of 172 individual management agreements up for renewal this year are likely to be given a new contract. Is the Cabinet Secretary able to give us any further information on this and would she agree with me that it would certainly be very advantageous not just to the farmers themselves, but also to anybody interested in rural life particularly in the uplands that they should be renewed?

I don’t have that information to hand but I’m happy to write to the Member with that information.

Llefarydd Plaid Cymru, Simon Thomas.

Diolch, Lywydd. Cabinet Secretary, can I refer you to Part 2 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016, which sets out a statutory framework for tackling climate change? But, at present, as you’ll know, it’s just a framework with no short-term targets or a delivery plan. Can you outline when and how you’re going to introduce these targets and an emissions reduction plan, and can you confirm that the 40 per cent reduction target of the previous Government in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 still remains this Government’s target?

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.

I thank the Cabinet Secretary at least for confirming on the record that the 40 per cent target is still there, because it was missing from the programme for government. But she will know that the recent report by the UK Committee on Climate Change says that we are, unfortunately, highly unlikely to meet our 40 per cent reduction target, and I do wonder how we might do that under the environment Act because the deadline for setting interim carbon budgets, which is going to be an important method of reaching that target, is not due until 2018. So, in light of the fact that we don’t have any kind of emission reduction plan and in light of the fact that she’s just told me that she doesn’t have any details in front of her, how can we have faith that that 2020 target will in fact be met?

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 is very important, and we’re obviously into the first one of those budgets, but that work is ongoing and I do want to reassure the Member.

I thank the Cabinet Secretary. I think we certainly noticed that the programme for government was rather thin and so it’s worth asking what is part of the Government’s programme at the moment. I certainly look forward to examining how carbon budgeting can work within the Assembly and the impact it will have on the Government’s own budget process.

But can I turn now to another Act that the previous Government passed, which is the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, and goal 7 of that Act sets out that we in Wales want to be

‘A nation, which when doing anything to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales, takes account of whether doing such a thing may make a positive contribution to global well-being’,

‘and the capacity to adapt to change (for example climate change)’.

In that context, the European Parliament on 4 October formally ratified the Paris climate change agreement on behalf of the EU. Following the decision to leave the European Union, of course, do you agree with me that it would be good for the National Assembly now to take our global responsibility seriously, as set out under goal 7 of the well-being of future generations Act, and for us as an Assembly to also formalise and formally ratify the Paris agreement?

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 month, but I think this is certainly something we can have discussions on because it is very important that we show that we’re very happy to play our full part.