8. Will the Minister provide an update on the Welsh Government's approach to nitrate vulnerable zones across Wales? OQ55869

Thank you. I've asked officials to provide advice on the introduction of legislation in response to continued unacceptable levels of agricultural pollution from poor agricultural practice in Wales. This will take into account continued concern from Senedd Members and the public, and the impacts of  COVID-19. 

You will be aware that our position is that we recognise that pollution caused by agriculture needs to stop. We do have a difference of opinion as to the methodology of doing that. But what I wanted to address was the farm business grant yard covering scheme, which was launched earlier this month, Minister, to provide grants to farmers to help them to comply with the nitrate vulnerable zone regulations when they're introduced later this year. However, a number of farmers have expressed concerns that they do not qualify for this funding, and, with an overall budget of £1.5 million, with a maximum award of £40,000, it strikes me that, if every grant were to receive the maximum award, we would only be able to help 37, 38 applicants. Minister, to demonstrate the Welsh Government understands the need of the agricultural industry, and their efforts to try to stamp out on-farm pollution, will you assist all these farmers that need the support to prepare themselves for the introduction of nitrate vulnerable zones? We know it's going to be costly. And would you commit to reviewing the scheme and, in the same way as you did with establishing natural resources and welfare funding, consider making additional funding from within your portfolio available?

Thank you. Well, I'm not sure we do have a difference of opinion. A whole-Wales approach to tackling agricultural pollution would be consistent with the advice that we've received from the UK Climate Change Committee. They said that NVZs must be extended to cover the whole of the United Kingdom, and I know, if we didn't, that would undermine the whole of the UK's ambition in relation to the climate emergency.

In relation to the yard covering scheme, which I announced last month, that came about following discussions with the farming unions. They certainly haven't raised with me that farmers are struggling with the scheme, but I'll be very happy to ask them when I meet with them, which, as you know, I do regularly, and I'm sure I'll be meeting them in the next couple of weeks or so. But it's absolutely imperative that we do all we can in relation to agricultural pollution, and the majority of farmers would absolutely agree with that, and do all they can to avoid agricultural pollution. But we are unfortunately still seeing a high number of substantiated incidents. By the end of last month we'd seen 123 this year alone, and, as we head into the winter months, we expect the number of incidents to rise, as they do every year, due to the increased rainfall. So, I think, unfortunately, there's no visible downward trend.

Thank you, Minister.