Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement this afternoon? For the record, I’d like to, once again, state that my parents-in-law’s farm has been affected by bovine TB in recent years.

Of course, today’s statement confirms that work on modelling and target setting continues, and I welcome the fact that there will be more formal targets announced at the end of this year. However, perhaps the Cabinet Secretary can confirm that these targets are being developed in partnership with the agricultural industry to ensure that they are proportionate and robust.

The Cabinet Secretary has my broad support for the Welsh Government’s proposals to start removing this disease from the wildlife population. I’m pleased that the Welsh Government is now starting to take that difficult step forward by removing infected badgers as well as infected cattle. Of course, given the sensitivity of this issue, both for landowners and the Welsh Government, I understand, quite rightly, that no specific information will be released in the public domain. However, perhaps she could provide some more detail about how she intends to monitor these arrangements to ensure that this process happens as smoothly as possible. Perhaps the Cabinet Secretary will also tell us how she will be assessing the effectiveness of this policy so the targeted controls are being implemented appropriately.

Now, of course, a regionalised approach is now being implemented, and it’s absolutely essential that this approach does not indirectly result in more burden and red tape for farmers. It’s crucial that the regionalised approach doesn’t hinder any attempts to deliver the best possible trade deals for the Welsh red meat and dairy industries, and also ensures that domestic trade between Wales and England is not negatively impacted. Indeed, in responding to my questions on this before recess, the Cabinet Secretary said that her officials have certainly spoken to DEFRA and had discussions around that. Therefore, perhaps the Cabinet Secretary could tell us how those discussions are progressing, and what action she has agreed with the UK Government.

The Cabinet Secretary will be aware of the concerns raised recently by farmers in my own area that the new controls could have a negative effect for pedigree breeders in high TB areas. Therefore, perhaps the Cabinet Secretary could tell us how the Welsh Government will specifically support the pedigree industry, who are anxious that the regionalised approach could result in them finding it more difficult to trade in the future.

Of course, one of the Welsh Government’s longer-term goals, according to the Wales TB eradication programme delivery plan, is the development of an informed purchasing scheme. In the Cabinet Secretary’s statement before recess, she confirmed that a mandatory scheme was the only way forward, and that she had asked officials to look at a mandatory scheme. Now, given that today’s statement doesn’t make any reference to an informed purchasing scheme, could the Cabinet Secretary confirm that this is still on the Welsh Government’s agenda and, therefore, can she tell us exactly what work her officials have undertaken to develop a compulsory scheme?

The TB eradication delivery plan confirmed that the compensation cap would be reduced to £5,000. This has now been introduced in the last few days, of course, and I appreciate this only affects a small number of farms. In response to my questions on this subject during her previous statement, the Cabinet Secretary said that she would encourage people who feel they’ve got cattle more valuable to look at insurance. However, the Welsh Government’s own TB eradication programme delivery plan states that there are concerns that insurance would not be a viable option due to the cost of the premiums. Therefore, whilst I appreciate that this only affects a very small number of farmers, there are, naturally, concerns for the farmers affected by high disease incidence who may be unable to obtain insurance for animals valued at more than £5,000. So, perhaps the Cabinet Secretary can tell us how she will be supporting those farmers so that the impact of this proposal is as minimal as possible.

Another aspect of the TB eradication programme is the development of a standardised, online biosecurity package. It’s crucial that this package is developed with the industry to ensure that it’s flexible enough to take account of individual circumstances and the different risks and disease drivers in each TB area. I’m pleased that today’s statement notes the importance of on-farm biosecurity to militate against the prevalence of the disease. However, could the Cabinet Secretary therefore tell us a bit more about how she will be ensuring that any on-farm biosecurity package will be responsive to individual needs? And can she tell us a bit more about how the agricultural and veterinary industries will be involved in the development of any online biosecurity packages?

Therefore, in closing, Llywydd, can I thank the Cabinet Secretary, once again, for her statement this afternoon? And can I, once again, put on record my broad support for the Welsh Government’s proposals? I can’t stress how important it is that the Welsh Government works with the agricultural industry to eradicate bovine TB in order to protect the sustainability and competitiveness of the industry for the future, particularly in light of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. Diolch.