I move the motion tabled in my name. As the Welsh Government reviews its bovine TB strategy, the Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee felt this presented a good opportunity to undertake a short, sharp inquiry into the programme. From the outset, I'd like to thank those who gave evidence to the committee and helped shape our report.

One of those giving evidence was Roger Lewis, a dairy farmer in Pembrokeshire, who explained that he had 47 cows in isolation as a result of a TB breakdown. Roger told us he was having to pour away £300-worth of milk, and feed the cows £100-worth of concentrate every day. However, the financial burden of a breakdown is only part of the pain for farmers, as Roger also told the committee about the emotional distress he felt seeing his cows penned up day in, day out. Llywydd dros dro, I wanted to open this debate by highlighting Roger's experience because I believe that it's important that Members hear the views of farmers like him, so that we can better understand the impact TB breakdowns have on farms across Wales.

Now, the committee's report focuses on five key areas the Government must address if they are to create a refreshed strategy that will eradicate TB and support farmers though the process. Those areas are engagement with farmers and the wider industry; informed purchasing; testing; compensation; and wildlife.

We heard that the countries that have been most successful with TB eradication programmes have very good engagement with farmers. Professor Glyn Hewinson told Members that the systems in Ireland and New Zealand, where there is evidence of good farmer engagement, has led to good results. So, on the basis of that good work, the committee has recommended that the Welsh Government follow a co-production route when developing its bovine TB policy, so that there is a genuine buy-in from the farming industry. I'm pleased that the Welsh Government has accepted the committee's recommendations on engagement and the principle of co-production, and I know from the Minister's statement earlier this week that she is considering the farmer engagement task and finish group report's findings and recommendations, and the NFU Cymru TB focus group report.

The committee also looked at informed purchasing, and as Members will know, there is currently a voluntary approach to informed purchasing in Wales, where farmers are encouraged to make their herds' testing history available at the point of sale to allow assessment of TB risk level. The committee considered whether mandatory informed purchasing would be a way forward, although the evidence we received painted a very mixed picture. Some witnesses argued for mandatory informed purchasing, saying that this would help farmers do the right thing, but the committee also heard that it could create a two-tier system, where animals that are deemed as higher risk will have a lower value.

However, one thing was very clear: informed purchasing, whether voluntary or mandatory, must be based on robust data. We know that the Welsh Government is developing a new multispecies database, EID Cymru, and this presents an opportunity to improve the information provided as part of informed purchasing. Nevertheless, whilst stakeholders were supportive of the development of EID Cymru, they raised valid concerns about the compatibility between the different UK administrations. So, whilst I'm pleased that the Welsh Government has accepted in principle the recommendations around informed purchasing, it did not address the issue of compatibility with other data systems in the UK, so I hope the Minister will address this issue in her response to this debate.

As part of the inquiry, the committee explored the idea of increasing TB testing, by reintroducing pre-movement testing in low-risk areas and also increasing the sensitivity of the tests that are used. Whilst there was broad support for increasing pre-movement testing, farming unions raised concerns that more sensitive tests would produce more false positives, which would in turn have a negative socioeconomic impact on the farming industry. The committee has recommended that a detailed socioeconomic impact assessment of any changes to the TB testing regime should be undertaken, and it's good to see that that recommendation has been accepted.

Llywydd dros dro, the committee heard how compensation for TB is a recurring area of overspend for the Welsh Government, which is simply unsustainable. One of the proposed solutions to this is a move away from the current individual cow-by-cow valuation to a tabular system for compensation, and members heard evidence in favour of the move from the RSPCA and against it from farming unions. The committee concluded that TB compensation must be used to reward good farming and that if a tabular compensation system is introduced, the Welsh Government must ensure that farmers rearing high-value cattle are not treated unfairly and do not lose out. Committee members understood that the current compensation programme is expensive. However, we also recognise that gaining farmer buy-in to any new system will be vital to its success.

Finally, whilst the committee tried to limit its work on wildlife in this inquiry, as that debate continues to be had, we did believe that there was a gap in data around bovine TB in wildlife. In the response to the report, the Welsh Government noted several studies and we as a committee will continue to monitor any scientific work done in this area.

So, Llywydd dros dro, this may be a short, sharp inquiry, but nonetheless its content and its report are vital, and so I look forward to hearing Members' views on this report and how we can help improve Wales's TB eradication policy ahead of the publication of the refreshed delivery plan later this year. Diolch yn fawr.