, the Shadow Rural Affairs
Secretary, has criticised the Welsh Labour Government for being
‘out of touch’ after it announced the basic payment date for the
farming industry will not be brought forward and emergency loans
will not be made available until December.
The Cabinet Secretary has today released a written
statement, confirming it would not follow the Scottish
Government’s lead and make loans available from early October.
Instead, it plans to make no change to the usual December basic
payment date, and only offer loans for the five to ten percent of
farmers who will not receive payments by that date.
Commenting, AM said:
“This is a disgraceful decision from the Welsh Labour Government
and shows how out of touch they are with the reality on the
ground.
“Farmers have been paying throughout the summer for fodder which
has become very expensive and has damaged cash flow.
“The Cabinet Secretary’s Labour colleagues in Scotland criticised
the SNP for not going far enough, however, in Wales, Labour are
not even going to meet anywhere near what is proposed in
Scotland.
“And being told to wait until December will add considerable
strain on an already difficult position for the farming industry
and rural economy across Wales.
“I urge the Cabinet Secretary and her officials to listen to
farmers and reconsider this ill-thought-out decision.”
