Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:52 pm on 2 February 2021.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:52, 2 February 2021

The promise that my party makes is that we will deal with agricultural pollution here in Wales. We have reached the point where I believe, and the Minister believes, that we can put these regulations before the Senedd. We can do so confident that we have worked hard with the industry, and that when it comes to implementing the regulations, we will do that alongside those many, many farmers in Wales who already comply with regulations, who don't pollute our natural environment, and who are let down by those who do. If these were entirely isolated incidents, or even if the incidents were falling, I'd have more sympathy with that the Member has said. In fact, we have seen no diminution in the rate of agricultural pollution. We don't just see one, we see three every single week, week in, week out, year in, year out, here in Wales, in a way that damages the industry and damages the environment that belongs to us all. That is why we will bring forward the regulations. That is the spirit in which we will approach it and we are doing the right thing by the industry and by Wales.