MP has called for
an equal say for Wales in any decisions on post-Brexit farm
funding.
Mr Lake made the demand in his submission to the Bew View Review,
which is looking at how agriculture will be funded if the UK
leaves the EU. The call for evidence for the Review closed this
week.
Mr Lake called for a new body to oversee agriculture spending,
that would ensure each of the four nations would have an equal
say on farm funding going forward.
Agriculture policy is currently almost entirely set at a devolved
or European level. The European Union Common Agricultural Policy
(CAP), for example, sets out the financial frameworks for food
production. The devolved governments – and the Westminster
Government on behalf of England – are then responsible for the
administration of funding.
If the UK leaves the EU, a new mechanism for deciding the size
and allocation of agriculture funding will have to be created.
The Westminster Government has already ceded to pressure from
Plaid Cymru and confirmed that any future farm funding will not
to be allocated using the Barnett Formula – the population based
funding calculation used to decide how much devolved government
receive from the Treasury. Wales has significantly higher rates
of employment and productive farmland in proportion to its
population size.
Mr Lake has suggested that an amendment be included in the
Agriculture Bill to create an intergovernmental frameworks as a
way of ensuring not only that Wales gets its fair share of UK
funding, but also that multi-annual frameworks can be introduced.
MP said:
“I hope the Bew Review is the first step to a sensible
proposal for agriculture funding if the UK leave the EU.
“Throughout the Brexit process, Wales has been ignored.
Wales is only talked about by the UK Government when they want to
take powers away or renege on promises of funding. That is why we
need a legal lock on our say in farm funding post-Brexit.
“In this most crucial of sectors, Wales must have an
equal say when discussing future funding models. If these
frameworks are to be sustainable, they need to be the products of
joint agreement. At present there is no appropriate body to
oversee the policies in the four nations of the UK, and neither
is there a dispute mechanism that is trusted by the four
administrations and the four industries.
“Welsh farmers were promised not a penny less and I will
keep fighting their corner in Westminster until that is confirmed
in law.”
ENDS
Notes
