2. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to promote food and drink from North Wales? OQ57373

Welsh Government continues to support our food and drink producers in north Wales to promote food and drink using a wide range of business programmes. North Wales producers were at our recent BlasCymru signature event, and I recently launched the new vision for the food and drink industry setting out how sustainable growth can be achieved.

Thank you, Minister, for your answer. As I'm sure all Members from across Zoom will agree, this is an excellent time of year to be promoting and taste-testing the fantastic food and drink from across Wales, the best of which, of course, comes from my region in the north. And Minister, I'm sure you know, in north Wales, we have a hub of world-renowned food and drink, whether it's the award-winning sausages from Edwards of Conwy or the organic meat from the Rhug estate in Corwen, and of course to swill it all down there's the Aber Falls gin near Llanfairfechan and, of course, I'm sure you're well aware, the Wrexham Lager, amongst many other excellent food and drinks. Also, Minister, I'm sure you'll be aware the North Wales Economic Ambition Board has a specific strand of work focusing on the agri-food sector, and has received a significant boost recently with the approval of an outline business case for a new rural economy hub at Glynllifon. The Glynllifon rural economy hub is expected to deliver over 100 full-time jobs in local food businesses and a GVA increase of around £50 million in a really important area of Wales. So, Minister, what action will you and the Welsh Government take to help make these plans at Glynllifon come to fruition, to make the food and drink sector in north Wales thrive even more? Thank you.

Thank you, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to agree with you about what a good time of year it is to buy our wonderful Welsh food and drink. It's always good, and it was great to be at the winter fair last month, and see the food hall, and see people literally queuing up outside for a long time to be able to buy Welsh food and drink once again at the Royal Welsh showground.

I agree with you about the work that's continuing now to be done at Glynllifon. I visited there just last month to have a look at their plans for it, and will continue to do all I can. You'll be aware of the Food Technology Centre, and project HELIX, which is undertaken in Llangefni. I think the two will link in together very well.

I'm very grateful to my colleague, Sam Rowlands, for raising this important question today. Can I agree with him and the Minister, for what she has said also? Minister, you'll be very aware that I am extremely passionate about the positive contribution that brewers and local pubs can bring to our local economy, and excellent breweries like those in Flintshire, Hafod and Polly's, or the excellent Wrexham Lager in your own constituency, as Sam Rowlands referred to, who again have won another award—another gold award—for their world-famous Bootlegger pilsner.

Now, Minister, in the last Senedd I successfully chaired the cross-party group on beer and pubs in the Senedd, and we're about to reconvene in the new year this very important group. Will you commit today to come and engage with the group in the new year, and show how the Welsh Government can support this very important sector right across Wales?

Thank you to Jack Sargeant. I'm very pleased you are reconvening the group in the new year, and of course I'll be very happy to come along and to support you in whatever way I can. As you say, in our part of north-east Wales we have several microbreweries, breweries and, obviously, many local pubs that sell those beers and ales, so it is really very good to be able to say once again to people, particularly in this difficult phase of COVID that we're entering now, 'It's really good to support those local brewers.'

Can I just say to my colleague Jack Sargeant I'd be very interested in joining that cross-party group? Minister, going back about 10 years I recall Cadwyn Clwyd, a regional development agency, secured £14 million of EU funding to boost the rural economy in Flintshire and Denbighshire. Other funding came in to agencies across north Wales such as Northern Marches Cymru, Menter a Busnes and Menter Môn. This funding helped many food promotion schemes, such as the Mold food festival, and funding of a local produce centre at the National Eisteddfod, with 16 food and drink suppliers from across north Wales. It's helped establish the Clwydian range food trail, and helped fund the Denbigh plum project, to name but a few. But Minister, I am concerned about the loss of European funding to the food sector via Welsh Government. Will there be replacement funding from the UK Government as promised, do you know? Diolch.

So, the food and drink industry will continue to receive significant funding through the RDP until that programme ends in 2023. Unfortunately, 'no' is the short answer to your question. Wales will lose out over £106 million of replacement EU funding for rural development over the spending review period. That's on top of the £137 million that I didn't receive from the UK Government during this financial year, so that 'not a penny less' mantra I'm afraid sounds very hollow. You will be aware that myself and my ministerial colleagues, particularly the Minister for Finance and Local Government, have continued to lobby the UK Government, particularly around the methodology that they've used to do their sums. We've now got, obviously, to take that into consideration as we bring forward the draft budget next week. I would just say, though, that food festivals, I think, are an excellent way of promoting our wonderful Welsh food and drink and I've done all I can to continue to promote them, obviously, and support them. We haven't been able to hold as many virtually this year as we would want to—sorry, in person—but we have managed to do some virtual work over the past year also.

I feel I need to say, in the interests of balance, given the long list of food and drink from the north that was just promoted by its Members, that other food and drink is available from other parts of Wales, and available to all before Christmas, hopefully.