Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:46 pm on 8 April 2020.
Diolch, Llywydd. I'm grateful to the Minister for her statement, and I echo what everybody else has said about how important the work that everybody in our food sector is doing, from farms to our shops to the shop workers, and I know that's very stressful for some of them.
With regard to the supermarket provision, I'm very pleased to hear what the Minister's had to say now that all the lists should have been made available, and I was relieved to hear her say to Janet Finch-Saunders that we will be able to add people to those lists. It was mentioned, for example, in the First Minister's statement about people with motor neurone disease who seem to have been missed altogether. Can I ask the Minister what would be the best way for us to proceed, as Members, if we are receiving representations—as Lynne Neagle has, and I have, and many of us—from constituents who are still being told as customers of supermarkets that they can't use the slots or that they haven't got the right information? Would it be advisable for us to write to the Minister, or would she prefer us to take this matter up directly with the supermarkets, because, as so often—I'm sure the Minister will acknowledge—we can get things right nationally, but in terms of them actually working at a local level for people, the intelligence that comes to us as elected Members is very important?
With regard to the food box provision, I absolutely understand what the Minister says about just needing to get this out of the door quickly and I know that it's been an absolute lifeline for some of my constituents. The Minister referred to local authorities as a key partner in all of this. I wonder if, as the scheme goes on, she could envisage them paying a larger role in the procurement—with the resources coming with that, of course—because that might be an opportunity. She mentions having more fresh food in those boxes, it might also be an opportunity if we involve local authorities to be able to support local food supply chains. So, I wonder if she’d give that some further consideration as things move forward.
On a different matter, I'm sure the Minister will agree with me that animal sanctuaries play a really important role in animal welfare in Wales, and, of course, those sanctuaries are all run on a voluntary basis. I have had a number of representations from sanctuaries in my region who are pointing out that, of course, their fundraising all depends on social activities, on their shops—all things that have had to come to an end. I wonder if the Minister today can commit to, if she hasn't already, giving some consideration to what support might be able to be made available to them, because, of course, the food is still needed for the animals and there may be a need for veterinary care and to pay for that.
And, just finally, I've received representations suggesting to me that some of the current business support doesn't work very well for tourism businesses—many of which, of course, may be farm diversifications. So, for example, if you're a caravan park you won't be receiving any income, but you won't be able to furlough your staff necessarily because you'll still need them to be cutting the grass, doing the maintenance. I realise this is predominantly a matter for Ken Skates's portfolio, but I wonder if I can ask the Minister today to have some further discussions with Ken Skates with a view to ensuring that we have business support packages available that will actually work for these rural businesses, which, of course, I'm sure the Minister will agree are very important.