6. 5. Debate on the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee Report on the Implications for Wales of Leaving the European Union

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:12 pm on 22 March 2017.

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Photo of Mr Simon Thomas Mr Simon Thomas Plaid Cymru 4:12, 22 March 2017

It does raise the question of what happens if the great reform Bill, proposed in Parliament, does not actually address the devolution of powers that come to Wales. We believe that there’s a good argument, as the Welsh Government’s own White Paper sets out, for a continuity or continuation Bill of these powers. That could provide two benefits. It defends our current constitutional status, and it also will allow us to maintain our standards in terms of agriculture, animal welfare, climate change, environmental benefits and so forth. I note—it’s not a recommendation as such, but it is a conclusion of the report that says, in particular, that the Sewel convention should be considered as extending in this area, particularly—and we do hope that this will transpire—particularly when we have a significant vote in the Westminster Parliament on the deal—on the agreement; on what the Brexit agreement is. There will be implications here that I think we need to vote on here, and we will need to be part of informing the final decision by the UK Government and the Parliament at Westminster on that matter.

The second broad theme—if I can touch on it briefly, although it’s huge—is funding. I think, from the point of view of agriculture, in particular, the report addresses the real need to preserve our participation in the single market. The imposition or the fallout that some people seem relaxed about in Westminster of going straight to WTO rules would be disastrous for Welsh agriculture. The effective tariff on fresh beef, for example, is 84 per cent. The effective tariff on a lamb carcass is 45 per cent. Those figures were presented to the climate change committee by Hybu Cig Cymru. These are not figures that can be immediately dealt with in terms of Welsh agriculture.

The final aspect, of course, in terms of funding is: when we get the resources returned to us from Brussels, they must be distributed in the UK in a fair manner, and certainly cannot be done according to the Barnett formula. We have done better in Wales from European funding than other parts of the United Kingdom, and I think it’s important that we send a strong signal that we don’t expect to be any worse off due to the democratic decision that was made by the people of Wales and the people of the United Kingdom.