5. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline his plans for supporting farmers on Ynys Môn? OQ60931

Thank you very much, Rhun. Over 99.9 per cent of claimants on Ynys Môn have received a basic payment scheme payment, worth a total of £8.3 million. This support is in addition to our Farming Connect service, which this year has registered over 1,000 people working in agriculture on Ynys Môn.

Thank you for that response. I too congratulate the Cabinet Secretary on his appointment. He will be highly aware of the importance of the agricultural industry for my Constituency, and of the very real concerns that exist among farmers on Anglesey, as is the case across Wales, on the vision and plans of the Welsh Government for the sector. It's clear to me at this point, with a new Minister in charge, that we must take stock of that vision and to make fundamental changes to many of the plans in place, and for the Government to work with the sector, which is crucially important, in order to get things right. 

So, I urge the Cabinet Secretary today in his first question session to ensure that the Welsh Government does intend to make those changes that are necessary, and to do so swiftly, not only in their plans but also in their attitudes too, and to be real champions for the agricultural sector. And on the sustainable farming scheme, on the NVZs, on tree planting, on TB—there are so many elements here—how does the Cabinet Secretary intend to work with farmers on Ynys Môn and across Wales to ensure that the Government and the industry are rowing in the same direction?

We have to undertake this journey together. 

We've got to go forward together. 

So, I am travelling the length and breadth of Wales. 

I will be visiting myself, as well as my officials, speaking to farmers, listening to farmers, engaging with them, as well as the wider stakeholders out there. I know he, like me, will also have representations from wildlife and environmental organisations who want to see us proceed as well, which has come out of the climate change Committee. I know how widespread the desire is from all parts of Wales to actually get on with this and do it, but we will only do it, as I've said during previous interventions on this, if we do it together. It is the Welsh way. I'm determined that we do this. It will require goodwill on all sides and it will probably require, just for the moment, a little bit of quiet reflection on the consultation that's gone on this, and the responses that we've had, which will take a little bit of time to actually digest, to be honest, and the many conversations.

So, I think we keep that going but then we have to plot out how we are going to move forward, because it is not only the sustainable future of farming in that wide interpretation that I've outlined before—the true sustainability of farming and food production in Wales—but it's also how we face the nature and the climate emergencies as well. We have no time to waste, but we've got to do it together.