4. What steps is Welsh Government taking to protect the rural economy during the pandemic? OQ56234

Welsh Government has taken a range of steps to support the entire economy, as well as making specific funding available for the rural economy. I have recently protected the budget for farmers in 2021, and I've also announced a range of schemes through the rural development programme totalling £106 million.

Thank you for that answer, Minister. One of the rural industries that is protected at the moment by being allowed to continue is commercial puppy farming, despite the fact that the public want a third-party puppy sales ban. You have said numerous times that legislation would be brought forward to ban third-party puppy sales before the end of this Senedd term, but you haven't given a clear answer as to when. Time is now running out, Minister. As you are aware, unless your proposed ban gets Royal Assent before the next Welsh Parliament election, any Bill you made to ban puppy sales and kitten sales would not be worth the paper it was written on. In this place, the average time between a Bill being laid and it actually becoming law is nine months, so even if the Bill were laid today, we don't have nine months before this Parliament is dissolved. So, Minister, I have a clear question that it should be easy to give a clear answer to: are you sure, as you have promised a number of times, that by the end of this Senedd term third-party puppy sales will be outlawed and will be punishable? 

So, as the Member says, I have assured her and other Members that this will be brought in before the end of term. My understanding is there will be a debate next month in the Senedd, and the regulations enforcement date is September of this year.