, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Well, yes, because there are some things that you can't do within RIS if it was only revenue funding. The reason—gosh, it's probably a year ago now—that I asked for that switch from revenue to capital, because I don't have a huge amount of capital, and that…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Absolutely I do. We've got revenue and capital in there. I think that's really important as well, because some of the schemes definitely need capital, and some of the stakeholders were telling us that that needs to be the way forward. So, if you look at what…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Yes.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Again, it had to come from somewhere, and if you look at the rural investment schemes, there’s still £100 million in the rural investment schemes, which I think will certainly help a great deal. I go back to what I was saying: I could have cut TB funding, I…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Well, the thing that came out most in the assessments was that we needed to maintain it. That was the absolute core thing. I’m saying, ‘Oh, I’ve protected it’—don’t think it was easy. It was probably one of the hardest things to maintain that budget. You try…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
We did very high-level impacts right across Government and within the department. So, officials did different impact assessments to show, and, obviously, if you're maintaining any budget at the same level year after year, then it will have an impact, but you…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
I don't underestimate the impact of inflation and what I said before about fertiliser, fuel and food. We know that the agricultural sector was significantly impacted by inflation, and, of course, BPS has not risen in that challenging time, and I've not been…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Morning.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Well, I go back to what I was saying, that it's bound to have an impact; it can't not have an impact when you're talking £50 million—10 per cent—out of a budget. But by protecting the BPS, by making sure that we were able to take through the Habitat Wales…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Over the next 12 months?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Yes, yes. As a Government, we are given a budget that we invest on behalf of those taxpayers to make sure we have all the services. So, I go back to what I was saying: it's really important that people understand that, whilst they perhaps wouldn't see farming…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
So, it's not farmers' money, is it?; it's taxpayers' money, and, as a Government, we are given—
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
So, you're absolutely right. I was thinking that I've never had a budget scrutiny like this before because, as you say, in your day, when you were in this portfolio, and in the last few years for me, that funding lands from Brussels straight into your budget…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Absolutely.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Well, I haven't really—. What I've been doing is dealing with the reductions I've had to look at with my budget. The one area that I have constantly raised with the finance Minister in regard to my budget is if—and I'm touching wood here—we were to have an…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
So, you're right, it is a significant change. Leaving the European Union has forced us, if you like, to deal with particularly the agricultural budget and the fisheries budget in a different way. So, we've still been able to support the things that we would…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
I don't think it was deprioritised. Somebody has to take the biggest cut. There aren't that many departments within the Government that had to make those savings. Every Minister had to make savings. As you know, we had to reshape our plans quite radically…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Thank you. Well, obviously, this has been one of the most challenging budgets—well, probably the most challenging—I've ever had to face as a Minister and for us as a Government. I think the UK Government have failed to provide us with the funding that we need…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2024-25: Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
Thank you. Lesley Griffiths, Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd.
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
It's really good to see that the Member has come late to the party in support of free breakfast clubs. I thought the Conservatives were opposed to those. There won't be a statement reiterating the Welsh Government's support for free breakfast clubs. Our…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Thank you. Well, in relation to your first question around the food accelerator scheme, obviously, I can't comment on individual cases. But I think it might be better if you write to me and I'll ask my officials to look into the case that you, clearly, are…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Thank you. Well, I don't doubt the importance of the charity to which you refer. We all have charities and third sector organisations within our constituencies who provide those much-needed services. But, unfortunately, we go back to the budget position. The…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Thank you. Well, the Welsh Government remains absolutely committed to supporting the development of co-operative and community-led housing in Wales. We know that one of the best ways to increase provision is to provide support to those interested in…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Thank you. Well, I don't disagree with anything that you said about the value of services in our libraries. Where I do disagree with the Member is that, obviously, it's a matter for each local authority. They are given a budget by the Welsh Government. We've…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
There are two changes to this week's business: the Minister for Health and Social Services will make a statement on winter pressures in healthcare. As a result, the statement on escalation and intervention arrangements has been postponed until next week, 23…
