i) Sustainable Farming and our Land Consultation
The Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Ms Lesley Griffiths has announced the launch of a second consultation on the future of farm payments in Wales. The ‘Sustainable Farming and our Land consultation’ was launched on 9th July and follows on from the 2018 ‘Brexit and Our Land’ consultation.
Please read ‘FUW Remains Concerned about Proposed Changes to Farm Payments’ for further details.
See here for the consultation document.
Deadline for responses is 30th October 2019.
The FUW will be holding special meetings to discuss the way forward and will be announcing the dates and locations of these meetings across Wales in the coming weeks.
ii) Welsh Government - Our ambition to further develop Wales’ food and drink sector
Welsh Government are seeking responses to the Welsh Government and the Food and Drink Wales Industry Board’s joint proposals for a strategic plan to further advance the food and drink sector in Wales for the period 2020-2026.
The proposals build on the Towards Sustainable Growth, an action plan that was developed from the 2010 strategy Food for Wales, Food from Wales report.
The consultation describes a strategic vision and mission for the sector, and describes the main objectives and actions WG propose to undertake.
Welsh Government and the Food and Drink wales Industry Board plans to publish a strategic plan for 2020-2026 in late 2019 or early 2020.
For further information please follow click here.
The consultation closes on the 15th October 2019.
iii) Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water Draft Drought Plan 2020
Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water have released a draft Drought Plan consultation for 2020.
In the consultation, Dŵr Cymru explain how they determine whether there is a drought developing (by monitoring rainfall, river flow, reservoir storage, groundwater levels, level of demand), the trigger factors used to determine each level of drought and what actions are to be taken at each level.
The draft plan also describes Dŵr Cymru’s communication plan and the point at which ‘end of drought’ is declared.
The FUW wants to highlight that this topic is increasingly important for farmers to consider, especially those using vast amounts of water such as dairy herds. Scarcity of water supply is an increasingly common scenario, for example during the dry Summer of 2018 and therefore is something which farmers should be considering.
For further information please follow click here.
The consultation closes on the 19th of September 2019.
iv) WG Draft National Strategy for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management
Welsh Government have released their 'Draft National Strategy for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management in Wales'.
The aim of the strategy is to ensure that the risks to people and communities from flooding and coastal erosion are effectively managed.
The objectives are to:
A = Improve our understanding and communication of risk
B = Preparedness and Building Resilience
C = Prioritise investment to the most at risk communities
D = Prevent more people becoming exposed to risk
E = Provide an effective and sustained response
The consultation document explains the responsibilities of each organisation (e.g - Welsh Government, NRW, water companies) in terms of flooding and erosion, how funding is allocated and outlines the various measures which they intend to put in place as a part of this strategy.
The 'Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) - Environmental Report' acts to ensure that the environmental effects have been taken into consideration when developing the National Strategy, as well as technical, economic and other considerations.
The SEA focused on objectives A, C and D and their possible significant effects on factors such as human health, biodiversity, water, cultural heritage and the climate.
For further information please follow click here.
The consultation closes on the 16th of September 2019.
v) Groceries Code Adjudicator Statutory Review
The Government is required to review the performance of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) every few years, with this review covering the period between 1st April 2016 to 31 March 2019.
The GCA are responsible for monitoring and enforcing The Groceries Supply Chain Code of Practise between groceries retailers (the 12 largest supermarkets) and their direct suppliers (GCA powers do NOT include farmers who sell produce indirectly, such as those selling their milk to processors, only those selling direct to the largest supermarkets).
The review concentrates on:
• how the GCA’s powers have been exercised;
• how effective the GCA has been in enforcing the Code;
• whether to amend or replace the Groceries Code Adjudicator (Permitted Maximum Financial Penalty) Order 2015; and
• whether to make an Order setting out the information that the GCA may consider when deciding whether to investigate
For further information please follow click here.
The consultation closes on the 12th of September 2019