Reaffirming her commitment to do everything possible to ensure the agricultural sector thrives post-Brexit, the Cabinet Secretary thanked everyone who contributed to the ‘Brexit and our Land’ consultation and helped start a national debate on future farming support. 

Over 12,000 responses have been received to the consultation on proposals for a new Land Management Programme, to replace the Common Agricultural Policy in Wales.

The Cabinet Secretary confirmed that changes to how the Welsh Government supports farmers will not be rushed and made three commitments:

• no decisions will be taken until all consultation responses have been reviewed
• no changes to existing payments will happen without further consultation next year; and
• old schemes will not be removed before new schemes are ready.

Speaking at the conference, the Cabinet Secretary said:  

“Our plans for future farming support are firmly based on helping ensure farms are resilient and sustainable, whatever the deal on Brexit .  

“We’ve had an overwhelming response to our ‘Brexit and our Land’ consultation – I am very grateful for each of the over 12,000 responses we have received and am pleased we’ve had a national debate on our proposals.

“I have been clear from day one.  Maintaining the status quo is not an option post-Brexit because it does not help farmers adapt to the challenges of a different and rapidly moving trading environment.  Whether we like it or not, the UK will leave the Common Agricultural Policy next year.  That is a certainty.

“The Basic Payment Scheme is not the most effective way to support farmers after Brexit – it is too blunt an instrument to deliver.  There is no link between BPS and a farmer’s effort, the performance of the farm business or the outcomes achieved.  The BPS delivers neither long term resilience nor prosperity.

“I have always stated we have to provide ongoing support to farmers but we need to do so in a better, much smarter way.  Farmers need and deserve our support.  This is the only way we can keep farmers on the land and protect our valued rural communities.

“Our proposals for a Public Goods Scheme will do just that – it is a new and meaningful income stream for farmers.  It will pay over and above the ‘income foregone and costs incurred’ of our current agri environment schemes.  For some farmers it will be the major part of their income and importantly,  it will linked to outcomes Wales needs from its land now and in the future’.

“Our proposed Economic Resilience scheme will target funding towards improving businesses.  It will be designed to increase productivity, invest in efficiency and diversification and help farmers adapt to new market opportunities.”

The Cabinet Secretary also reminded farmers of the BPS loan scheme support that is available this year and urged those who wish to apply  to submit their applications by no later than 30 November.

The Cabinet Secretary added:  

“We will be starting BPS payments on 3 December and will ensure we pay as many farm businesses as possible on day 1 of the payment window. Following the exceptionally hot and dry summer, I introduced a BPS loan scheme to support farm businesses and alleviate the short term pressures on a small proportion of claimants not able to receive their BPS early in the payment window.

“I would like to remind everyone this is an ‘opt in’ scheme.  The application is currently available to everyone on RPW online and applications must be submitted by 30 November.  I urge all farmers to consider applying for this  valuable support.”

He will deliver the keynote speech at the Ocean Energy Europe conference and exhibition at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, where the Welsh Government will host a trade stand and 16 Welsh companies will be represented.

Ocean Energy Europe is one of the most important events on Europe’s ocean energy calendar, providing companies with the opportunity to raise their profile and network with key decision-makers, investors and influential entrepreneurs in the sector.

The Finance Secretary said:

“We are striving to make Wales a leading player in the marine energy field with energy generated from waves and the tide playing an important role in our ambitions for a low-carbon economy.

“Our aim is to generate 70% of our energy from renewable sources by 2030. The marine energy sector can play a significant role in helping Wales achieve this target and will be closely aligned with Wales’ First National Marine Plan.

“Over the last 18 months, the EU and Welsh Government has invested in a number of marine energy projects, including Morlais Consent, the Marine Energy Test Area in Pembrokeshire, Bombora Wavepower and Marine Power Systems, as well as ongoing support for Marine Energy Wales.

“All this underpins our ambition to build a thriving industry generating well-paid jobs and business opportunities in Wales. We want to continue to attract developers from around the world to our Welsh waters.”

The Finance Secretary will make his keynote speech at 9am in the main auditorium of Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething, today (Tuesday, 30 October) announced £1.69m funding over two years for the North Wales Regional Partnership Board to develop new ways of working that could eventually be used across Wales.

The funding comes from the £100m Transformation Fund to support key actions from the Welsh Government’s long term plan for health and social care, A Healthier Wales. 

Through better integrating health, social care and the third sector, the project aims to help people with learning disabilities live more independently and get the care they need to closer to home. 

The project aims to achieve this in a number of different ways:

• Better integration of health and social services and less duplication of record systems so people only have to ‘say it once’.
• Workforce development to create better awareness of disability issues among the wider public sector workforce. This approach should reduce the demand for specialist learning disability services in future.
• Uses of assistive technology to help people with learning disabilities become more independent in their everyday lives.
• Community and culture change. Increasing number of people employed in paid work, accessing training, and volunteering. More effective regional approaches for social prescribing.

Mr Gething said: 

“Our long term plan for health and social care, sets out how we will transform the way we deliver care to ensure it is sustainable in the future. 

This will require better integration of health and social services to reduce reliance on hospitals and deliver care closer to home. The Transformation Fund will be used to fund a small number of projects which have the most impact in developing and delivering new models of care, and which have potential to scale up so they can be used across Wales. 

This project aims to deliver better integration of services for people with learning disabilities to help them live more independent lives. I hope many of these new ideas can then be rolled out across Wales to provide a better service for patients and reduce the pressure on certain parts of the NHS and social services.”

Councillor Gareth Roberts, Chairman of the North Wales Regional Partnership Board, said: 

“We are delighted to hear that our bid for funding has been successful. We have a big ambition in North Wales to improve health and social care, with a clear focus on putting people first and working our services around the needs of residents.

“In a region such as ours, sharing resources, experiences and skills is vital. We all have a common goal and there is a commitment from all organisations to work towards making this dream become reality. Transforming services around learning disabilities has been identified as one of our key areas of work over the coming years and we look forward to using this funding to strengthen and enhance our current quality services to make them even better.”

The funding will be used to create a commercial property investment scheme to bring vacant commercial space back to use and revitalise existing shop fronts in the town.

Housing and Regeneration Minister Rebecca Evans announced £870,000 of Welsh Government investment to support the scheme. £700,000 of this has been allocated as part of the Welsh Government’s £160m Targeted Regeneration Investment (TRI) programme. A further £170,000 of Town Centre Loan funding from Welsh Government will be made available to businesses via the local authority. The remainder of the funding for the scheme will be provided by the local authority and private investment.

Rebecca Evans said: 

“As our town centres change, this investment will help businesses in Colwyn Bay to repair and refurbish buildings to make the high street a more attractive place. Importantly it will also target empty properties and spaces that could be transformed into thriving new shops or businesses. 

“There is a real demand for good quality retail and commercial space to help attract businesses to the area and to help local businesses grow and thrive. I believe this investment will build on previous Welsh Government investment in the town and be a springboard for business success in Colwyn Bay.”

Cllr Louise Emery, Conwy County Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development said:

“I’m delighted that Colwyn Bay has been awarded this funding. It’s a great opportunity for the town to continue to benefit from investment in its regeneration.”

The Welsh Government’s £20m Town Centre Loans Fund is helping to bring underused sites in town centres back to life. The fund brings empty and derelict sites in town centres back into use and supports activities that increase footfall on high streets. Once loans are repaid, the money is used again to fund new loans.

Contaminated land has been found to affect 16 homes on the estate. Investigations  earlier this year found high concentrations of arsenic and lead underneath the properties which could pose a risk to human health. 

The Welsh Government has committed to fund 60% of the costs, with Anglesey County Council covering the remainder.  

Craig Y Don was built in the 1950s on the former Gwaith Hills metal smelter works,  which operated between 1786 and 1897, before becoming a chemical works. The estate includes 112 residential properties, both private dwellings and homes owned and leased to tenants by Anglesey County Council.  

The Welsh Government funding will ensure residents do not need to pay for the work themselves, while the local authority will not need to pay the total costs from its existing budgets. 

The Environment Minister, Hannah Blythyn, said: 

“The remediation costs for contaminated land usually fall to the owner or occupier of the property, in cases where the original polluter no longer exists. 

“However, given a number of distinguishing factors at Craig Y Don, we felt it appropriate for the Welsh Government to step in to provide financial support for the remediation work. 

“Contaminated land mostly affects former industrial, inner city and dockland areas. I’m pleased to announce this funding, which will help return the land to being a safe and clean place for residents, the community and for future generations.” 

Councillor Llinos Medi, Leader of the Isle of Anglesey County Council, said:

“I’m grateful to colleagues in Welsh Government for their financial support in ensuring these important works go ahead.

“This has been a challenging period for the residents of Craig y Don, but they have always been our first priority. 

“Through working in partnership we now have the funding needed to help all of them, be they tenants or homeowners.”