Another compromise too far is healthcare. It is no coincidence that the two health boards covering the majority of rural Wales are in major difficulties. These health boards have presided over major controversial reorganisations, which aim to centralise services and save money. However, what is often ignored is the views of the local population. It may be more economically efficient to centre services in one or two large hospitals, but does this deliver health and well-being outcomes for the rural population? I, personally, am always really impressed by how truly rural nations like Australia are able to balance the needs of providing services across thousands of square miles. Yet, despite a £9 billion budget, Welsh Government can't do it. It's not just the outcomes that concern me, but the ability to attract the appropriate workforce to support these systems of care, which are so important in rural communities. For people to choose to work in healthcare in rural communities, they want good local schools for their kids and a decent job for other members of their families.

So, whilst health and education are absolutely vital threads in the canvas of rural living, it is the economy of rural Wales that provides the golden thread. We must create and preserve a prosperous rural economy that can support our communities. The prosperity we seek stems from agriculture, tourism, sports, the public sector, and the extraordinary diversity of businesses, large and small. Whether it's the local newsagent in Tenby, the global supplier of agricultural matting in Llanglydwen, the fast-growing chocolate company in Llanboidy, or the niche boutique in Narberth, they, and many other extraordinary entrepreneurs throughout the whole of Wales, combine to create real opportunities for a vibrant rural economy. And, without doubt, the warp that runs through our rural canvas is farming. The Welsh Conservatives are united in understanding the importance of the agricultural industry to the Welsh economy, but I am not sure that the Welsh Government understand that. Because, without farming at the heart of the rural economy, we will lose not just farms, not just the next generation, not just the businesses that depend on agriculture, but we will lose the environment, the countryside that attracts tourists, and, finally, we will lose the people.

Farmers are rightly worried about what support will be available once the single farm payment stops, and I personally am deeply concerned about the 'Brexit and our land' consultation, because this consultation suggests that farmers will become simply custodians of the countryside, being financially rewarded for addressing problems such as poor air and water quality and flood risk, but this does not recognise the key role they already play, nor indeed their outstanding custodianship of the environment, or that the core focus of a farming business is to produce food. If we don't value the quality and abundance of our countryside and simply push farmers into a land management role, then what of all the other businesses that rely on farmers—those that produce feed, mend machinery, sell supplies, broker the product? Therefore, Minister, I urge the Government to listen to the 12,000 responses on the 'Brexit and our land' consultation. We could be changing the nature of farming forever, and, alongside that, changing the countryside for generations to come. We must remember the impact that a strong agricultural sector has on our rural economy. The Welsh Government ignores at its peril the fact that agriculture underpins a multi-billion pound food and drink industry that employs over 222,000 people, making it the largest employer in Wales, and which is worth over £6.9 billion to the economy. So, why—through arrogance, carelessness, or indifference—destroy it? And, if agriculture is the warp to our canvas, then business is the weft, and rural business is struggling. 

Last week's budget saw the Westminster Government backing high streets by cutting business rates by a third for two years, but we are yet to hear if support is being considered for Welsh high streets. In rural communities, footfall is often seasonal, vacancy rates are high, charity shops abound, more and more edge-of-town multiples are appearing, and, once a high street starts to die, the reverse is hard to engineer. Wales now has the highest business rates in the UK, and the Welsh Conservatives believe this is placing a crippling and unfair burden on businesses across Wales and threatening the economic well-being of many, many businesses. And it is these high streets that complement one of rural Wales’s greatest assets: our outstanding countryside. Destination tourism is a concept much talked of by Welsh Government: get people to come and see our fabulous national parks, the sheer majesty of the seas pounding our land, the quiet beauty of the mountains, hills and valleys of the hinterland, persuade people to cycle, run, walk, row and wander—singles, couples, families—and, when exhausted, or rained on, then head to the castles and churches, the shops and attractions, the museums and restaurants.