1. Will the Minister make a statement on the implications of the cuts to Welsh agricultural funding announced in the UK Government’s spending review on 25 November 2020? TQ512

Diolch. The UK Government has left Wales £137 million short of the funding expected next year. They are using EU funding to subsidise their manifesto commitment, and despite their vocal claims, this funding will be lost. This would not have happened were we remaining in Europe, and amounts to a betrayal of rural communities.

The Conservative election manifesto, of course, said it would guarantee the current annual common agricultural policy budget to farmers in every year of this Parliament, yet less than 12 months later, of course, Boris Johnson has broken his promise with a whopping cut, as you've explained, in agricultural funding support to Wales. Now, farmers I've spoken with feel lied to, they feel hoodwinked, and that it's an absolute betrayal—not my words, but the words of the farming unions, of course—and if the Conservatives break their promise on this, then what hope for all the other EU replacement funds that the UK Government once promised would be paid in full to Wales?

This has happened, of course, partly because of the underspend in the rural development plan in Wales. The N+3 rule means, of course, that you're perfectly entitled to spend that money up to 2023, but many of us have warned you that the Welsh Government needed to get that money out in a more timely manner, and now, of course, you've burnt your fingers. So, would you agree that this underlines, once again, the need for an independent inquiry into the Government's handling of the RDP in Wales? And where does this leave your proposals for a sustainable farming scheme, because many of us have been warning as well for a long time that you've been developing your plans for the new support scheme without knowing what funding you would have? This Tory cut certainly doesn't augur well for rural Wales, so can you explain to us maybe how this reduction in funding might affect your plans for the sustainable farming scheme? 

And finally, mindful of the fact that you previously confirmed that the basic payment scheme would be maintained for 2021, can you today confirm that the BPS will be maintained, but maintained at its current funding levels? 

Thank you. In relation to your questions around the RDP, I do not accept that historical pillar transfers are responsible for a delayed spend through the EU RDP, and our spend profile is absolutely where we would expect it to be. We took legitimate decisions about how to profile our RDP spending that suited Wales, and the delivery of our programme objectives. We should not be penalised for these decisions. We would never have envisaged the UK Government would take such a flawed approach to replacement funding. Our RDP is absolutely on track. The level of spend, the level of commitment through the programme, is in line with the European average. The European Commission have repeatedly confirmed they're very satisfied with our programme, and I understand this was expressed as recently as just two weeks ago at the latest programme monitoring committee meeting. So, I absolutely do not accept what you are saying. 

In relation to the BPS budget decision, in light of the funding settlement, I am currently considering the level of BPS available in 2021. I appreciate the urgency of this decision for farmers and will obviously set out my intentions this month; this is something that I will obviously mention. I met both the farming unions over the last week in relation to this.

You asked about 'Sustainable Farming and our Land'. As you know, I will be publishing a White Paper this month, and we will obviously take everything into consideration. 

Prior to this spending review, I wrote an urgent letter to the Secretary of State for Wales, making clear my belief that the UK Government should adhere to the manifesto commitment to guarantee the current annual budget to farmers in every year of the next Parliament. The response from the Secretary of State provided me with much clarity, and let's be clear: this manifesto commitment has not been broken. The overall annual envelope is £337 million for Wales. The UK Government, however, has provided certainty on future funding in two ways. First, the withdrawal agreement states that the UK will continue to participate in all EU programmes financed by the multi-annual financial framework 2014-2020, until their closure. This ensures that there is continued access to EU funding for several rural programmes, including CAP, pillar 2, the European maritime and fisheries fund and the European regional development fund until their completion. The UK Government stands by its commitment to guarantee to fund the tail of CAP pillar 2 commitments that fall outside of the scope of the withdrawal agreement. 

Secondly, Her Majesty's Treasury have adopted a consistent approach, topping up EU receipts with exchequer funding to the level of the manifesto commitment. The real scandal is here. The Welsh Government has around £160 million left unspent of RDP 2014 to 2020. Now, my question, Minister, is: whilst I appreciate the plus 3 flexibility, will you state why the RDP budget was not spent between 2014 and 2020? What do you have to say to our farmers who, since 2014, have found the application windows to have been sporadic, under-resourced, resorted to paying advisers and consultants to assist and even those who have been turned away from support, because you were simply hoarding this funding?

Up to the end of August 2019, RDP spend stood at just 41 per cent. Little surprise, then, that the Auditor General for Wales found that the Welsh Government awarded £53 million of rural development funds without even ensuring that the grants would deliver value for money. You have failed to manage the budget effectively, and as such, will you now agree to an urgent independent review of the RDP? I'm very pleased that Plaid Cymru, and in particular Llyr Gruffydd, is echoing the Welsh Conservative calls for an independent review of the RDP. Thank you. Diolch, Llywydd.

If Janet Finch-Saunders writes to the Secretary of State for Wales and absolutely takes what he says at face value and tells me that she understands the RDP 2014 to 2020 N+3, then it just explains that she really doesn't understand it because of all the reasons I've explained in my answer to Llyr Huws Gruffydd.

I stated that our RDP is on track. The level of spend and commitment is in line with the European average. The European Commission are content and have repeatedly confirmed that they're satisfied with our programme, and that was up to two weeks ago. So, what you're saying is completely incorrect. I do not accept that historic pillar transfers are responsible for the delayed spend through the EU RDP. The Welsh Government has a responsibility to all those who live in rural communities. Support for farmers is absolutely critical, but it's also important we support wider rural development also, and that delivers our priorities, including protecting the environment and enabling communities to thrive, and that's exactly what the RDP does.

The UK Government have gone back on their manifesto commitment. They told us we would not lose a penny—not lose a penny—and we are now losing so many millions for all the reasons I've explained. And I have to say, if you look at some of the comments from your colleagues, Janet Finch-Saunders, and certainly, in September, Andrew R.T. Davies asked me to confirm that I would protect the rural development budget with 100 per cent of the budget committed and spent. Angela Burns welcomed the announcement of our rural development funding allocation. So, are they saying they didn't understand the Conservative manifesto pledge? They're saying now, 'It should be obvious.' Well, it doesn't marry up at all. So, I suggest that you go back to the Secretary of State for Wales, clarifying what I am saying to you now.

We haven't got a Secretary of State for Wales, we've got a Secretary of State for the Tory Party, because as far as I'm concerned, he's never stood up for Wales, and his predecessor played the same game. So, that's the first thing I would ask the Conservatives here today to do is to ask for a Secretary of State for Wales, one who looks after the interests of Wales.

As the Minister has said, we've been asked here by first of all, Andrew R.T. Davies, to protect that budget with 100 per cent committed to its spend, and again by Angela Burns in May 2020, welcoming the announcement. So, there is real confusion in your camp that you need to sort out, because either you didn't understand what was happening, or you were completely unable to understand what was happening, and I think you need to answer those questions within your group. And I think it would be a really good idea here to stand up for Wales, not the Conservative Party, and actually put forward a real claim and not just accept the letter, because I've had a few from him too, but actually fight the corner for Wales. Because the farmers here have made it perfectly clear that this is going to be detrimental to them in the way that they can survive, going forward. That would be something I hope, Minister, and I'm sure that you will do, and that is to ask the Secretary of State for the Tory Party to revert to becoming the Secretary of State for Wales.

Thank you, Joyce Watson. I think one of the things that really concerns me is the lack of engagement both from the Treasury in London, where I have tried to have meetings, and certainly, along with my Scottish and Northern Ireland counterparts, as soon as we realised the issue that this was going to bring, and they refused to engage with us; we've just been met with silence. And so, I then tried to get a meeting with the Secretary of State for Wales and his junior Minister. I managed to get that—after much persuasion on my part—the day before the comprehensive spending review. And I believed that the Secretary of State for Wales actually understood my concerns, and he did say he would go straight to the Treasury to discuss that for me. Unfortunately, the next day, we saw the CSR, a week ago, and the level of underfunding that we now have. But I will continue to pursue it. I am going to carry on fighting this, for our farmers and for our rural communities. My colleague Rebecca Evans, the Minister for Finance, has written to the Treasury on this subject; I have a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs inter-ministerial group meeting on Monday, where I will continue to pursue it.

Thank you, Minister.