4. Topical Questions

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:28 pm on 16 October 2019.

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Photo of Andrew RT Davies Andrew RT Davies Conservative 3:28, 16 October 2019

Thank you for your statement so far, Minister. I'm speaking, obviously, as the rural affairs spokesperson, and obviously the support to the workers who've lost their jobs is of critical importance. To hear the drop-in event that is arranged for Monday—hopefully it will be a first stepping stone to getting many of those individuals back into employment.

But if I could just raise two issues with you, the NFU upstairs had an event at lunch time that highlighted the impact on the dairy farm sector. About 100-plus producers were supplying the factory, as I understand it. Many now will have to take their line in the queue of creditors to the company that's in administration, and it's looking as if six weeks' worth of supply of milk most probably won't be paid for. What support can the Welsh Government give to try to make sure cashflow isn't interrupted through the autumn via the single farm payment scheme? There was an example that was highlighted to me that, under the loan scheme that the Government have made available under single farm payment, if you've had that loan within the last three years, you wouldn't be eligible for this year. I don't know whether that's correct or not, but if you could confirm that I'd be most grateful. Because apparently if you've had the loan in the last three years you are unable to, but given these force majeure circumstances for these dairy farmers, it is vital that cashflow is maintained.

Secondly, it was pleasing to hear that you're reasonably optimistic about the future of the plant, because we do not have much processing capacity regrettably for liquid milk here in Wales. Are you able to update how optimistic you believe you are in securing the long-term future of this plant so it can be put back to good use, and turn Welsh milk back into a drinkable product that can arrive on consumers' shelves and into fridges as quick as possible? Because if we do lose this plant, I believe I'm correct in saying we will not have a major liquid milk processing facility here in Wales.