Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 2:02 pm on 16 September 2020.
Minister, like other industries, as you've just said, Welsh farming has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and so it's crucial that the Welsh Government ensures the sustainability of the farming industry in its post-COVID recovery strategies. You have confirmed that you'll be laying the draft water resources regulations this year, which will simply add more burden and financial costs when the industry is going to need significant time to recover from the impacts of COVID-19. As you already know, there's evidence of some very good voluntary approaches across Wales. For example, the Wales catchment-sensitive farming demonstration project, which is a very successful scheme that was well received by farmers. Given the very serious impact that these regulations will have on farmers, will you now commit to dropping these regulations and instead committing to working with farmers to look at some of the alternative solutions, especially at a time when the industry will have to recover from COVID-19?