Extracts from proceedings in the Wales Assembly - Oct 16

Wednesday, 17 October 2018 06:31

Extract from Business Statement Llyr Gruffydd AM: May I ask for two statements from the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, please? The first relating to the UK Government’s announcement today that they are to hold an independent review on how agricultural funding will be distributed among the nations within the UK post Brexit, because it is crucial that this is...Request free trial

Extract from Business Statement

Llyr Gruffydd AM: May I ask for two statements from the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, please? The first relating to the UK Government’s announcement today that they are to hold an independent review on how agricultural funding will be distributed among the nations within the UK post Brexit, because it is crucial that this is done properly in terms of the interests of the agricultural sector in Wales, where, of course, we represent 4.7 per cent of the population but receive 9.4 per cent of the CAP funding coming to the UK. That, of course, reflects the rural nature of Wales and the importance of agriculture to the Welsh economy.

There’s been some discussion on the importance of Barnett and not using Barnett as the foundation for this, and we’ve heard some positive noises in that regard, but there was a significant sentence in some of the reports, stating:

'the Barnett formula alone will not be used as a basis for distributing funds to farmers after 2022.'

Does that suggest that, perhaps, Barnett will be part of the equation? And if it is, then, clearly, that could cause major problems for us here in Wales. So, I would like to know, for example, what the Welsh Government’s input was to the remit of the review that’s been put in place, what involvement will the Welsh Government have in choosing the Welsh representative on the panel, and, of course, what will the model that the was Government would wish to promote be as part of that review?

May I also ask for an oral statement? We’ve heard in an announcement today from the Cabinet Secretary the name of the interim chair of Natural Resources Wales. From that written statement, which was relatively brief, there is one sentence mentioning the background of this individual, mainly in the health sector. It appears that the individual has no experience of the environmental and agricultural sectors, which, of course, are the main focus of NRW, or any experience of working in Wales or any knowledge of the structures. That’s one thing, but more seriously, I have to say that in looking at the individual’s background it appears that in 2006 he left Liverpool council under a cloud with accusations that he had passed sensitive documents on to Government. In the same year, 22 MPs wrote an open letter saying that they couldn’t work with him following his appointment as chief executive of the regional health board. In 2010, he was appointed chief executive of Alder Hey hospital, encouraging the gentleman who was going to rebuild the hospital to resign in protest. And the person who is now commissioner for Merseyside police describes him as, and I quote,

'A man in whom I have no cofidence and for whom I have no respect'.

Now, I think we should at least have a full oral statement in this Parliament rather than one brief sentence in a written statement, so that we can understand why the Cabinet Secretary and the Welsh Government have confidence in this individual, when it’s clear that so many other people don’t share that confidence.

Julie James AM (Leader of the House): On the land consultation, the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, in an open letter in September, provided clarity on the proposals for reform that, which are set out in the 'Brexit and our land' consultation. The proposals are exactly those proposals. The consultation closes on 30 October. We are receiving responses at quite a rate. It's too early to offer an analysis of the responses we've seen so far. I don't believe we've had any input into the UK Government consultation announced to that question. Obviously, once the consultation closes, there will be an analysis of the results from the consultation on the proposals.

On the NRW interim chair, there has been a written statement. The Member has a number of ways that he can ask questions on a written statement; I suggest that those are utilised.

Extract from statement by the Minister for Environment: Update on the flood impacts of storm Callum

Michelle Brown AM: Thank you for your statement, Minister. Along with Angela Burns, my heartfelt sympathies go to the family and friends of Corey Sharpling, who sadly died in a landslip. And also my sympathies go to other people in the UK who died or who have suffered injury in the recent storm. I'm sure that all Members in this place will do our utmost to assist them and those people whose homes and businesses have been damaged by the high winds and flooding caused by storm Callum. I'd also like to echo the thanks and appreciation to the emergency services and others and members of the public who worked to help their friends, neighbours and other people through the difficulties caused by the storm.

I appreciate that some communities will have benefited greatly from flood defences that have already been put in place, but, in some places, those defences have clearly been overwhelmed, and, understandably, residents will be concerned. So, can you confirm what steps you will take to review flood defences, both in communities that already have them and where residents and businesses may feel they're missing out?

You've acknowledged in your statement that animals were caught up in the flooding, and there have been occasions of sheep having been washed away and other animals being stranded. I'd like to ask you what support the Welsh Government can offer those farmers who've lost livestock and now have injured livestock because of the flooding. There are also reports of horses having to be rescued from the flooding itself. So, are you satisfied that the correct level of resources and adequate information are there to help horse owners and owners of similar animals and farmers as well to plan for, and deal with, the consequences of flooding? What conversations are you having with farmers regarding their role in preventing and mitigating the risk of flooding, and what support will you offer them so that they can actually fulfil that role?

Llandysul Paddlers Canoe Club is a community-based enterprise and has already started fundraising to address the damage caused, which they estimate at some £200,000. Can the Welsh Government consider offering some level of support for community initiatives affected by severe weather? And the effective provision of utilities is a life-and-death measure for some people—in particular, hospitals. So, what discussions have you had with utility companies about their response to the storm and any challenges they faced that Welsh Government can address for the future? Thank you.

Hannah Blythyn AM (Minister for Environment): I thank the Member for her contribution and her questions.

In terms of looking at—. You referred to how flood defences have been in place and have worked and to assess whether things have worked as well as we would have liked them to do. As I said previously, it's our duty, when anything like this happens, that we should review and assess what has happened when we get all the information in from local authorities and Natural Resources Wales and all the stakeholders and communities involved, and make sure that we're able to learn from that and revise accordingly, and that is something that I will take very seriously, as the Minister for environment, working alongside my relevant Government and Cabinet colleagues. So, that is something we will look at and will feed into our future plans in terms of when we look at where our priorities are for prevention.

You're right to point out, and I mentioned in my statement, the impact on landowners and the incidents of some sheep, and farmers. In terms of how our—. I think it's important for us to work with farmers and landowners, who understand flood risk and understand land management in their areas, which is why, when we're looking at updating our natural strategy for flood prevention, which is ongoing at the moment, landowners and farmers will be part of that as well, to make sure that we can take into account and learn from all the points that you've raised in terms of land management, and animal and horse owners as well.

You mentioned the paddlers club and I actually met them today in Llandysul and saw what they were doing in terms of the clean-up operation and how people have come from all over the country and their crowdfunding. In terms of this—you know, we need to work with all the stakeholders in the community and work, as a Welsh Government, to see how we're best placed to give support going forward.