61 contributions on record. Newest first, by sitting day. Page 2 of 2. Counted by Siambr
Trefnydd, the law is the law. You say that you respect the Supreme Court judgment, so when will we see you fulfil that obligation and protect the rights of women and girls across Wales? It's time for dates now, and I would like to ask for a statement that reflects that, outlining your immediate planned actions in this regard. Diolch.
Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer, and diolch for your statement, Minister. We have seen recently what has happened when the current Prime Minister followed crazy net-zero dogma, piled costs onto ordinary people and forgot the communities that keep this country fed—he's been rejected for going down that path. Are these really the footsteps that you want to follow? Because this is your chance to do something different, to recognise reality and adopt a common-sense approach. Yes, we all want to look after the environment, of course we do, but that does not mean hammering Welsh farmers with more rules and requirements, more costs and more bureaucracy whilst treating food production as an afterthought. So, today, I want to press you, Minister, on some practical points.
You say in your statement that businesses need access to resilient supply chains and that we must strengthen the system that brings food to people across Wales; I 100 per cent agree with that. You said that you want to promote Welsh food properly—again, of course we do—through a national food strategy for Wales. But, as usual, you've given no detail on how you would look to achieve this. We need to hear more detail on this and how you'll promote Welsh produce, not only in Wales but across the UK and abroad. You need a clear plan in place, from field to fork, so that Welsh farmers, producers, processors and retailers are all properly supported. And I agree—you need to strengthen local supply chains so that we can get more Welsh food into Welsh supply chains, into hospitals, into schools and so forth. So, as part of that strategy, what is your plan to ensure that we don't lose any more essential abattoirs?
On the bureaucracy review, I welcome any serious efforts to cut red tape—we all do—but why on earth does it have to take nine months to review something that we all already know the answers to? There is a degree of urgency to this, Minister, which you recognised in opposition. Farmers need to be freed up from the pointless bureaucracy and red tape now so that they can be free to do what they do best—to farm and to produce food. When you were in opposition you voiced these very concerns, like I am now, but now you're in Government you seem to be rowing back on that urgency. Taking nine months to review this is a farce. Minister, will you commit to publishing early recommendations from this review before the nine-months process is completed?
I welcome in your statement your commitment to deal with flooding, which, of course, has recently had a devastating impact on businesses, homes and communities in my own constituency, particularly in Monmouth, in Monmouthshire. What is needed are urgent practical steps to prevent flooding, particularly prevention upstream, or even dredging rivers. And I have to say, I'm looking forward to a statement on this before the summer outlining your plans.
On SFS, we need an urgent, proper review into why take-up is so low, so that the SFS can be adapted and more flexible, and inclusive of all farms.
Lastly, Minister, is one of your Government's priorities to put large solar farms on prime agricultural land, or would you, as Minister for farming, look to stop any significant solar farms that include prime agricultural land to ensure that we have every means possible to create that sustainable food nation, if that is indeed your intention? Diolch.
Diolch, Lywydd. Firstly, Minister, congratulations on your appointment. During the election, your party made a very clear commitment to review the sustainable farming scheme. You've just released a statement—literally, just now—that confirms what we all already knew, and that the take-up for the SFS is only around 50 per cent. Despite the SFS not being centred around food production, as Reform would like to see, you must agree that the scheme is far too complex, the compliance requirements are far too rigid, and the paperwork is, quite frankly, bonkers. For many farmers, the uncertainty and the unknown are simply too big a risk. Some farmers feel punished for staying on the old scheme, when the new one is simply not flexible enough for them to enter.
What we need to see is a more flexible, commonsense approach, perhaps with less restrictive requirements, a broader menu of options to choose from, rather than having to complete the full suite of what are restrictive requirements, with farm assurance, perhaps, being the golden ticket, so that more farmers can participate rather than being shut out by requirements that are, quite frankly, through no fault of their own, unattainable.
The figures you released today prove that there is a huge difference in take-up of different types of farms: 65 per cent, I think, of take-up in Gwynedd, and we're seeing 35 per cent, for example, in Monmouthshire, which says a lot, and I know you'll understand why. Farmers need certainty, they need security going forward. You've made a promise to the Welsh electorate to have this review. We need to know, Minister, when this review will begin, so that we can see that breakdown of why take-up is so poor. And will these changes be in place by 2027, because they absolutely need to be? Diolch.
Thank you. I think your comments are very welcome there. You seem to be totally committed to actually listening to farmers, which, I'm afraid to say, is not what the last Government did. It was far more environmentalists, rather than farmers who are actually going through this scheme and dealing with the scheme on a day-to-day basis. Yes, the unions have been very good at helping with filling in forms, but it's not really a job that they should have to do, so that bureaucracy needs to stop. We need to press upon you that urgency, again, to learn those lessons and have them enable that change before 2027.
During the election, your party also promised a science-led, targeted approach to tackling bovine tuberculosis. This is something our party wholeheartedly supports. However, there are farmers with serious mental health issues living under TB restrictions right now, who need to know when you're going to deliver this. The electorate trusted you to deliver this, and I know you understand the urgency of finally getting to grips with bovine TB. Farmers need answers today, Minister. Can you outline how your approach to tackling TB will differ from previous strategies, and when can farmers see meaningful action, with the emphasis on action, to finally get to grips with bovine TB in Wales? Diolch.
Diolch, Minister. I'm really happy to hear your viewpoint on that and concur with what you said. TB has been a dark cloud hanging over our farming communities for far too long, and we need to see something finally happen. We all know what needs to be done, so I look forward to seeing that actually happen.
My final question is on something that I think we both agree on. And credit to you, in opposition and in your manifesto, you were very supportive of getting rid of the ridiculous farming-by-calendar nitrate vulnerable zone rules. And rightly so, because farmers cannot control the weather like that; it's just common sense. And anyone who's actually spoken to a farmer—something, I'm sure again, that the last Government seemed to be very poor at—understands how impossible that it is.
The devil is in the detail here, so I would like to hear today exactly what you think should happen to NVZs, outlining a clear timescale as to when we will move to that different approach, assuming it's like the one that was outlined in the Bolton review into water quality. So, will you take this opportunity today to tell us exactly when farming by calendar will end and the new position will begin? Diolch.
Could I firstly thank my colleague Cristiana Emsley for bringing forward this short debate today? It's been very thoughtful, and I concur with everything that she said and with what Natasha Asghar just said. The first short debate of this seventh Senedd, and what an important and pertinent one it is. It's simple. In Reform, we support what are basic rights for women and girls in Wales. We support the Supreme Court's ruling that sex means biological sex in equity law, because it's important for safety, for dignity and for fairness. This is the law, as Cristiana rightly says. It is crystal clear. Why should women and girls have to be fighting still for rights already enshrined in law?
As the former chair of the cross-party group on sport in the last Senedd, I want to know from the Minister when will you make it clear to sporting bodies in Wales that fairness and safety in sport are important. It is the law to abide by it, and women and girls in Wales should have the right to single-sex, safe, fair sport. Women and girls don't deserve more delay.
And I want to thank, once again, Cristiana, for bringing forward today's debate. Yes, we have asked you, Minister, a lot of questions on this in the last week, but, Presiding Officer, that's because Reform thinks it's important, and we think women and girls in Wales are important. Diolch.
Trefnydd, when I was first elected to this place in 2003, bovine TB was a huge problem for Welsh farmers. In fact, it was one of the most urgent, pressing problems in Welsh agriculture. Fast forward nearly 25 years and it still is. The lack of progress in eradicating TB is one of the abject failures of past Governments here. In Reform, we are clear that we need a comprehensive bovine TB control strategy, we need targeted wildlife control as part of a science-led approach, as the First Minister indicated he agreed with earlier, and we need action. Being from a farming community in Monmouthshire, I have seen grown men and women on their knees crying, livelihoods destroyed because this place has failed to take the tough decisions needed to combat bovine TB. Enough of this dark cloud hanging over our agricultural industry for decades. Trefnydd, can I ask that the Welsh Government brings forward an urgent oral statement to this place, including a timetable of when you will bring forward a bovine TB strategy and the subsequent action needed after it, setting out how exactly it will be different to any previous Labour-Plaid strategy before it? Diolch.
Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer, and diolch, Deputy First Minister. Firstly, congratulations on both of your appointments.
Thank you for your statement outlining your priorities, Minister. Respect, solidarity and fairness are values that have always mattered to the people of Wales, I agree, but does that not apply to women and girls? Are you equally committed to ensuring that their rights in law are upheld, too? Do you agree with Reform that they shouldn’t have to still be fighting, in your words used in the statement, for their safety and fairness over a year since the Supreme Court ruling? It is shocking that all four of your Plaid MPs in Westminster backed a motion this week opposing single-sex services for women. This is nothing short of a complete betrayal of women and girls right across Wales. Deputy First Minister, will you condemn your Westminster counterparts for opposing single-sex services for women and girls—in refuges, in girls’ changing rooms, and so on—and perhaps amend your statement today to include safety and fairness for women and girls as also a priority for your Government? Diolch.
There is nowhere to hide now, there are no more excuses, the Supreme Court has ruled, the guidance has been published and the law is crystal clear. Can the new Welsh Government please issue an urgent statement defining what a woman is for these purposes, and give us a definitive timeline on when policies and guidance will be changed to abide by the law, so that this Senedd can finally seek to protect women and girls across Wales? Diolch.
Diolch. Firstly, First Minister, congratulations. I'm sure every single person in this Chamber wants you to do well for the sake of our country. However, I have huge reservations about whether you can achieve the best outcomes for Wales with the path that you're going down.
In regard to agriculture, what does the title 'Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability' actually mean? The farmers in my new constituency of Sir Fynwy Torfaen are rightly concerned that there is no mention of farming, no mention of agriculture, and that matters, coupled with the fact that agriculture was not even mentioned in your six key priorities for government yesterday, or today in your 1,387-word speech, not a mention, as opposed to Reform, for whom agriculture will always be a top priority. I just pray this is not a sign of your true intentions.
First Minister, will you reassure the Chamber and farmers across Wales that you will listen to them, that you will cut bureaucracy, and that you'll focus policy on what farmers do best, and that is to feed our nation, rather than let agriculture die on the altar of net-zero dogma and unrealistic environmental targets? It sounded just now as if climate change is the top priority for your Minister here, and agriculture a mere afterthought. Don't you agree with Reform that farming and agriculture deserves to be a top priority for any Government of Wales?
Dan Thomas.
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