6. Will the Minister provide an update on the rural development programme in South Wales West? OQ56653

Diolch. The rural development programme continues to deliver across the whole of Wales, including in south-west Wales. Projects are being delivered that are benefitting our natural environment, businesses and rural communities throughout the country.

Thank you, Minister. Despite the fact that the rural development programme has run for a number of years, with the aim of promoting economic growth and sustainable growth in rural areas, we still see income levels in some of our rural areas of South Wales West being stubbornly low. Of course, programmes such as the Swansea bay city deal have the potential to support growth in rural areas, with a focus on better provision digitally that could lead to economic development, but rural poverty is multifaceted and it's something that we have to get to grips with across Government. The lack of public transport in particular arises time and time again as a factor that impacts economic opportunities and quality of life. Cuts to bus services in particular, as a result of the pressure on local government budgets and COVID, are a major problem. So, I'd like to ask you what discussions you are having at the moment with your fellow Ministers, particularly the Ministers for the economy and social justice, with regard to developing an economic and poverty eradication strategy tailored to rural communities over the coming years. Thank you. 

I haven't had any discussions with the two Ministers that you referred to in the past month or so of the new Government, but clearly, having been in the portfolio in the previous term, I've had those discussions about ensuring our rural areas get the funding that they require, because obviously rural areas do have different requirements and needs. You mentioned public transport, for instance; certainly, those discussions have taken place before. 

In relation to the rural development programme, it's really important that the funded projects do bring the necessary benefits to the areas that they are there for and that those programmes and projects are monitored. There are some significant appraisals under way in your region at the moment in relation to the RDP projects there. COVID recovery is obviously an area where we are looking to ensure that rural areas don't get left behind. And there are also the rural business investment schemes for food and non-agricultural projects, some of which you've just referred to. 

One of the aims of the rural development programme is to promote strong, sustainable economic growth in Wales. For many farms and rural businesses, this is something that can be achieved by diversification of their businesses. Some in my region, particularly in Gower, have looked to diversify by going into tourism, but many have told me it's quite a long, drawn-out and bureaucratic process. Can I ask the Minister to outline the support made available by Welsh Government for other businesses looking to do the same in the future?

It surprises me that you say that around diversification into tourism, because I think that is an area where we've seen some significant diversification. A lot of the applications we've had in relation to diversification lately have been in relation to energy, for instance—people would like to put maybe one windmill on their farm to make sure that they have energy. So, it surprises me that you say that they're overly bureaucratic, because I think tourism is the main area where that diversification has already taken place. But there are a variety of schemes that farmers can apply for. And also Farming Connect, which is obviously unique to Wales, provides a service where, if any farmer wants to discuss diversification of any type, they're able to ring there for support and specialist advice. 

We get very little of the benefit of food production beyond the sale of the raw materials. Does the Minister agree with me that we need to develop the food processing industry in Wales, and will the Minister look at the Felindre site in my colleague Rebecca Evans's constituency as a location for food processing by a large number of companies so that the profit made from food processing is made in Wales, not exported out?

I think it's very important that we do enlarge the food processing sector that we have here. It's really important for the Welsh economy, as you say. I'd certainly be very happy to look in broad terms at what we can do in relation to that at Felindre.