The Rural Economy

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 2:52 pm on 16 December 2020.

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Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 2:52, 16 December 2020

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.