, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
That will be something that will obviously be discussed. We have met as a Cabinet informally, this morning, obviously, on the back of the budget, but those formal discussions will go ahead. But you'll be aware of our already very good childcare offer that we…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Well, what happens when we get a Barnett consequential of funding is that we have a Cabinet discussion, led by the First Minister and Minister for Finance. You'll appreciate that we haven't had a formal Cabinet since the budget yesterday.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Yes. So, the joint fisheries statement commits us to exploring, where appropriate, the use of technologies such as REM, which is remote electronic monitoring, not just for sustainable management but also for scientific purposes and, of course, control of…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
REM?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Yes, that work is ongoing. You have probably heard me say in other places that we were the first country—we were the only country—in the UK to start with under 12m. I think that that was a really good news story. It's good to see other parts of the UK chasing…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Well, we did a consultation, so that obviously gave us a starting point. There's no work being done on it at the moment. The focus of the department—it's a very small team—is on the other aspects, as I say, of my statutory duties.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
So, obviously, the legislative programme is a matter for the First Minister. We've certainly done the preparatory work. It's up to the First Minister, working with the Counsel General, to determine whether a Welsh fisheries Bill will be considered amongst the…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
I hadn’t intended to publish the minutes. I’ll certainly ask the group if they will consider that possibility. As you know, the group’s been established to advise me and my officials on broader, strategic fisheries issues. There’s another meeting—I think it’s…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
When it was published, the provisional fisheries framework memorandum of understanding committed to producing and publishing operational agreements in eight areas. So, we are finalising plans into the operational agreement. We’ve got a senior steering group…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
So, as I say, officials have been working on this now for some considerable time. I think it's fair to say—and Gian Marco can tell me if I'm wrong—that that's had to increase over the past few weeks. And, as I say, when you get an updated spreadsheet, that…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Yes. So, if I tell you, I think there are close to 1,800 pieces of retained EU law identified by DEFRA between my portfolio and that of the Minister for Climate Change, because, as I say, we work as a group and as a unit between the two of us. So, that is a…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
It's certainly going to be a huge amount of work; I cannot begin to say how much work this is going to mean—not just for Welsh Government, but for the Senedd as well. Officials are, and have been, working on this now for some significant time. I think it's…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
So, that hasn't come across my desk, as yet. As I say, I'm only having monthly meetings with NRW, and I don't tend to get much information in between those monthly meetings, but I can't think of anything specifically at the moment around reform.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Yes, absolutely. So, I think it was a very exciting manifesto pledge of my party and certainly, here in north Wales—I'm sure it's the same in your constituency, Darren—it was very much welcomed. It's just—. I say it's 'just' come into my portfolio; it's…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Okay. So, the first thing to say is, 'no', access to water doesn't sit with me, it sits with the Minister for Climate Change. You'll be aware that our department is called climate change and rural affairs, and we work very, very closely together, but the…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Thank you. Well, the work of the access reform group ended in 2020, and we've now got a national access forum for Wales—I recently met with the chair, actually. So, despite the very real challenges to our budget, we've increased capital funding in recent…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
I think one of the things we could do is get a little bit more clarity. So, with my MS hat on, I've had a case that probably would fall within the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, and it's really hard to find out whether it's the police who need to deal with it or…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Breeding controls are, yes. So, we've had revisions to our statutory guidance on dog breeding, and what we're doing now, we've got an animal licensing project, which, again, is something that we've brought forward. We're forming a working group to consider…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Well, as you know, the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 is a UK Government piece of legislation that I don't think is fit for purpose. A lot of the animal welfare legislation that currently is with the UK Government, some of it goes back to the 1800s. I remember…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Thank you. Obviously, the one track we have in Wales is in your constituency, and we met to discuss your concerns around that. I did commit to doing that, if that's what the consultation does show. But, as I say, we're a long way from that, but certainly I…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Yes, absolutely—they're very much a part of it. So, in relation to greyhounds, as you know, we had a debate last week on the back of a petition that garnered a significant amount of support from across Wales. So, I have committed to going out to consultation…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
It's ongoing. So, as I say, it's a five-year plan. We won't do everything in the first year—well, we're obviously into the second year now. It is a five-year plan, and what I want to do is achieve all of the things set out in the animal welfare plan in the…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
In relation to the animal welfare plan?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Yes, absolutely. What we do with all these regulations and with the codes of practice is we have a sort of rolling programme, if you like, looking at all of them. So, as you tick one off—it's a bit like painting the Forth Bridge; as you tick one off, there's…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny - Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
I suppose that last one is a bit of a barrier—the UK Bill—so, just trying to see what we can do to get some progress there. I think that's probably the only one. As I say, the office of the chief veterinary officer has really been stretched to the limit…
