, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Well, again, it questions the value of the exercise, doesn't it, but there we are.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
So, the next modelling work, you will need all those pieces of the jigsaw in place, effectively, or as many as possible, in order to get the most meaningful outcome. So, if we're looking at changes to the scheme, if we're looking at eventually finding out…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Yes, but you were asking for the most negative, weren't you? You said you wanted to see the worst case scenario. Should there not have been a range, where you could have said, 'Well, this is the best possible scenario, this is the worst, and it's likely to…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
—and including other aspects that maybe should have been included?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Sure, but you set the parameters for that modelling work, for whoever undertakes the work. So, why did you not ask them to carry something out that was a bit more meaningful in terms of what it was targeting—
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
So, what was the value in publishing it, then, if you're saying that much of the data was based on a very unlikely scenario? Because, obviously, it's caused a great deal of consternation and concern. We've seen the 5,500 wellingtons on the steps on the Senedd…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Yes, of course.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Can I just—? Sorry to interrupt—
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
What does 'looked at' mean?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Have to be looked at, or is that—?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Yes. So, we can take it as read then that any future modelling done around what you propose to be a final scheme, if that shows a level of job losses, then it will not proceed on that basis?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
You've said that.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Diolch. Much has been made of the economic impact assessment that's been published, clearly, and you've explained that it reflects, maybe, a previous iteration of the scheme as proposed, although it does, obviously, suggest a 5,500 potential job loss in…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
So, the overriding sentiment is it's more important to get it right than to get it done by 2025.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Okay, but you still want to give those time and—
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
General Ministerial Scrutiny: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Maybe you're expecting a rather unprecedented level of responses, potentially, so, clearly, that'll need some extra time to process, and, as you say, to give all of those responses justice, then you'll need to allow plenty of time for that to be considered…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Introductions, apologies, substitutions, and declarations of interest
Honorary member of the BVA.
, Committee of the Whole Senedd
Group 8: Voting system at Senedd general elections and allocation of seats (Amendments 21, 51, 22, 23, 117, 31, 32)
I mean, there's no more trouble to be had with farmers than a party that votes down a proposal for the full basic payment to reach the front line of farming in Wales next year.
, Plenary
Debate: The Final Budget 2024-25
I find it interesting, after all that was said and done last week, that it seems now that the Conservatives in Wales are going to be voting against a budget that secures the total quantity of the basic payment to the front line of Welsh farmers next year. Are…
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Bovine TB
There's no doubt, is there, that the anger and frustration within the industry at the repeated failure of successive Governments to implement a comprehensive TB eradication strategy in Wales is as great now as it has ever been. I've sat in this Chamber for 13…
, Plenary
Plaid Cymru Debate: Bovine TB
Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. I move the Plaid Cymru motion on bovine TB. Bovine TB, as we all know, has cast a long and dark shadow over the agricultural industry and rural communities for many years now, threatening livelihoods, threatening the…
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Sustainable Farming Scheme
Okay. The key message, then, is if farmers don't buy into the scheme, then you risk ending up with a scheme that nobody delivers and delivers for nobody.
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Sustainable Farming Scheme
I just want to elaborate a bit on the environmental aspect, because we've seen an emerging sort of polarisation, haven't we, of views—or perceived views, maybe we should say—and, clearly, certain people have infiltrated the debate around this to pursue their…
, Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: Sustainable Farming Scheme
I just want to start my contribution by making a comparison that many of you will have heard me make in the past, but I think it's a fair comparison, because 40 years ago, many of us here in the Chamber, in almost all parts of the Chamber, perhaps, stood…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Well, there's no question that farmers can help, but forcing people to do something that undermines their own business and their own participation in the scheme isn't going to work. You've got to take these farmers with you on this journey; it's as simple as…
