6. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact of COVID-19 on the rural economy to date? OQ56054

The pandemic has impacted all sectors, and the rural economy is no different. In September, I committed £106 million to support the rural economy over the next three years. We are continually assessing the impacts of the pandemic and have responded decisively.

Thank you for that answer, Minister. The COVID pandemic has undoubtedly hit the rural economy hard and will continue to do so for a long time to come. One shameful feature of the rural economy in Wales is puppy farming. Ministers from other nations have had the determination to ban third-party puppy sales, and your latest statement on this issue is that a ban would be put in place before the end of this parliamentary term. However, you haven't said when and you haven't said why you are continuing to let the animal suffering go on in the meantime. The legislation involved is simple and could simply be copied and pasted from the other UK countries that have shown more care for animal welfare than this Government and have already brought in bans. Your Government has found time to give prisoners the vote but still hasn't found time to ban third-party sales that fuel the puppy farming industry. So, Minister, why is it that you're delaying the ban on this cruel business? Is it because, in the current economic climate, you're trying to protect the profits of any business that the COVID restrictions haven't sent to the wall, even if that business is making money out of suffering?

Michelle Brown wasn't listening to my earlier answer to Joyce Watson that we will be bringing forward the legislation, which goes beyond Lucy's law, by the end of this Senedd term, i.e. April. So, if she hasn't heard that, well, I've just repeated it for her.

We know that mental health issues can often be hidden and disguised, particularly in deeper rural areas of Wales, often, sadly, until it's too late. The pandemic has now added another layer to many of the stresses and strains that are being faced by businesses and farmers, for instance, in the rural areas. What assessment have you made and what discussions have you had with the Minister responsible for dealing with mental health issues to assess the challenges that are facing businesses and farmers and people within the rural economy, and what support can the Welsh Government give to businesses in those areas at this difficult time to make sure that the burden is carried with those affected by the Government for as much as possible?

Nick Ramsay raises a very important point. It's about that balance of harms that the First Minister was referring to, and we've clearly seen poor mental health increase significantly during this pandemic. In relation to the rural sector and the agricultural sector, we have brought forward specific schemes to help our agricultural sector. We've brought forward a group of all the charities that work in this area. I attended several meetings, particularly over the summer and the spring, at the height of the pandemic, to make sure that those charities and organisations were working very closely together for farmers to access that funding. We also brought forward a scheme that was in production, but we brought it forward earlier, called FarmWell, where people can access really quick assistance, to work with organisations, in relation to better mental health. I've had discussions with my colleague Eluned Morgan and, prior to that, with the Minister for Health and Social Services around this to ensure that we are reaching as many people as possible, and I really pay tribute to the charities within the agricultural sector who have provided so much support over the past nine months.

COVID-19 is clearly affecting our rural economy and will continue to do so for some time to come, but could I ask the Minister what assessment she has made of the additional impact of EU withdrawal on the rural economy and communities through the loss of agricultural support and rural development support, the loss of EU-funded social programmes and infrastructure programmes, like broadband, and without the UK Government making good on its promises to replace these funds in full and pass those funds back to Wales under our devolved powers and, I have to say, without Boris Johnson being able to deliver a so-called oven-ready Brexit trade deal, and letting down, therefore, badly, Welsh farmers? Would she agree with me that, regardless of which side of the Brexit argument you were originally on, there are points that everyone can now agree on: that the Brexit promises were false, and that the people of Wales were deceived by Boris Johnson and by assorted Faragist cheerleaders? They've let Wales down badly and they now need to own the mess that they've made.

I absolutely agree with the Member, and certainly the failure to provide full replacement agricultural funding is clearly something that makes me very angry—it should make us all very angry. And every Member of this Senedd should be standing up for Wales to ensure we get that funding back to support our agricultural sector. Wales currently benefits from over £700 million from our participation in a range of EU programmes, and the vast majority of those do absolutely support our rural economy and society. We will continue to fight for that funding, but I have to say the UK Government have betrayed our rural Wales. 

Question 7 [OQ56031] is withdrawn. Question 8, Rhianon Passmore.