, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
No, it hasn't changed. We've maintained that. I know that my officials are in regular contact with NRW on the delivery of the SLA; we will keep that under review, obviously, but, remember, it's only one of the regulations that has been delayed; the rest are…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
I have heard the £500 million discussed and we've certainly discussed that at inter-ministerial groups, yes.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
I wouldn't say that I've directly communicated with HM Treasury—I'm trying to think—but, certainly, as part of our inter-ministerial group meetings, finance—I was going to say 'is always'; we, unfortunately, haven't had an IMG since the new Secretary of State…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
No, not really. For me, the £238 million is the kind of baseline, so that was why it was so important to protect that this year, to make sure that, going into 2025—and that transition was £238 million. But no, and I certainly haven't got a figure that I would…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
'I'm happy to do that'—I mean, somebody else will do it.[Laughter.]
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
I know. And I think it's probably a very big piece of work for officials to do that, but I definitely had a lot of documents brought to my attention from Dean and the team on the impacts on the budget. So, yes, happy to do that.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
But I think Alun raises a really interesting point, and I go back to saying, if you think about the impact on the agricultural sector of all—you know, the Ukraine war will have had an impact on the economy of the agricultural sector in a way it didn't on…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Yes, I'm just thinking of the vast number of impact documents we had to do in this budget; it might be better, Chair, if I approach that via correspondence.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
The farm liaison service.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
No, I don't think so. I think you find other ways to communicate. So, for instance, now, we e-mail all farmers who are in receipt of BPS. It's much easier to do that, and you have the templates, if you like, so you're able to communicate quicker and easier…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Okay. I'll hand over to Gian Marco because he's been working on this.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Yes, Farming Connect has always been a priority for me. As I say, it's unique to Wales. It's something that I think is incredibly valued by the sector. Officials are currently developing the specification for the new contract, but there will absolutely be…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Yes, that support is really important. So, RPW, which is obviously very well known to farmers and their systems and the way that they work, is going to continue to work with our farmers who enter the scheme. They'll help them with mapping—mapping of habitat…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
So, I've been working very closely with officials in RPW, and they are doing all they can to ensure that that reduction has very minimal impact on the delivery of current and future schemes. What they've been doing over the past couple of years is enhancing…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
I think that that reduction really reflects the change in the scheme's design. So, you may be aware that in the SFS there are going to be three tiers, if you like, of funding. At the moment, we're just focusing on the introduction of the universal baseline…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
I don't think it'll have any impact on the level of ambition. So, the level of ambition, really, is part of the consultation now. We're out to consultation until the beginning of March; it's another plug to make sure that everybody puts their response into…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Strange question.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Yes.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Yes, because, obviously, if you look at the whole budget, if you look at rural investment schemes and if you look at all of the other schemes that we're talking about, that falls within that.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Sorry, I'm going to ask you to say that again.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Again, I hope the Member's had a chance to see the scheme. But just going back to Habitat Wales, that was the point I made. We are offering everybody a contract. They will know what payments they are going to get. So, if you've applied for one, you will know…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
No, absolutely not. So, that's £2 million, the organic.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
No. I suppose we have a figure in our heads, but I think the most important thing—. I don't think it's really about the amount of budget; it's about making sure that everybody who has applied will be offered a contract, and I can assure you that will be the…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
I can't announce that yet. At the moment, we are working with people who've applied for the scheme. What I have said is everyone who has applied for the Habitat Wales scheme will be offered a contract. It's obviously up to them whether they accept that…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
No, absolutely not. If we're going to get on to tree planting, I know there's been a level of concern. For me, I think it shows confidence in the sector; I think it shows that I want farmers to be in the front when it comes to tree planting. They're the best…
