Questions to the Minister for Public Services
Janet Finch-Saunders
Thank you, Presiding Officer. Minister, Flintshire County Council’s refusal this week to respond to a freedom of information request on the total of rent arrears owing to their council, submitted by their own leader, is rather bizarre and quite outrageous, and it does raise larger concerns about the culture of openness and transparency in local government across Wales under your leadership. Recently, too, the Wales Audit Office published additional concerns that Torfaen County Borough Council did not publish its 2015-16 improvement plan as soon as was reasonably practicable after the start of the financial year. Minister, how are you able to evidence that you are acknowledging this blatant lack of reference and duty, under the public interest test? And what are you doing to ensure that councils, under your leadership, in Wales, are able to demonstrate openness, transparency, and democratic accountability?
Leighton Andrews
Llywydd, it is my understanding that the UK Conservative Government is currently looking at proposals to restrict the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which would have an impact on the ability of the public to scrutinise local authorities in Wales, as in England.
Janet Finch-Saunders
Minister, with all due respect, I’d just like to remind you that I’m an Assembly Member representing the residents of Aberconwy, and you are also an AM, representing the Rhondda. Nothing to do with the UK Government in my question. The Wales Audit Office has recently found long-standing governance weaknesses at Newport City Council, a number of fragmented services lacking cohesion and accountability at Torfaen County Borough Council, and significant challenges still remaining in care and social services at Bridgend County Borough Council. As part of your local government reform, where do you actually take any responsibility for true and strong leadership of local governance in Wales? And will you look at this overriding culture that exists now in Wales—that local authorities do exactly what they want to do, and they are completely overriding the interests of our public?
Leighton Andrews
Well, it’s interesting—the previous question began with reference to the Freedom of Information Act, which, of course, is a UK Government Act. And it is her Government at Westminster that appears now to be seeking to undermine the Freedom of Information Act and its operation, which will, of course, undermine the ability of members of the public in Wales to scrutinise public bodies in Wales, including local authorities.
And if I can just remind her, in terms of the performance of local government, of course, amongst the authorities that were put into special measures by Estyn, over education issues, was Monmouthshire County Council—not referred to by her in her question. I think that we have a system of accountability for local government that is working, and, in fact, the very fact that we have the WAO, and others, scrutinising local authorities, and producing reports upon them, suggests that we have a system that is operating with effect.
Janet Finch-Saunders
Finally, Minister, what discussions have you had with opposition parties, here, in this institution, regarding Stage 4 of the Local Government (Wales) Bill?
Leighton Andrews
A number.
Welsh Conservatives Debate on Rural Communities
Janet Finch-Saunders
The Welsh Conservatives are proud, actually, to hold the Welsh Government to account and to scrutinise and debate and discuss, standing up for our rural communities and, indeed, our farmers. Today’s debate is relevant to many here in Wales, with over a third of our population living in the 85 per cent of our country that is considered rural Wales. With a rural economy worth over £13 billion, it simply isn’t an option—. It is essential that the Welsh Government reaches out more to engage, consult and actually take real, meaningful action to support this vital industry. Last year, the Welsh agricultural economy saw a 15 per cent increase in GVA, yet the Welsh Labour Government has cut the rural affairs budget by 18 per cent to agriculture and food. With the average farm income forecast to fall by £7,000 to £22,000 a year, it is vital that our farmers are adequately supported.
The slashing of the EU pillar 1 payments by Labour means 15 per cent less direct funding for our farmers. It does beg the question why the previous Minister, obviously supported by members of the Cabinet now, actually made such a fundamentally damaging decision that would impact so negatively upon our farmers. I would like to ask the Minister, or Deputy Minister, here today to give some indication of what is going to happen now with the forthcoming co-financing commitment. NFU Cymru have called for the RDP to be given clear farmer benefit and direct receipt of funds. Minister, how are you ensuring higher levels of participation and uptake for the RDP, and how is the RDP monitored? In some cases there have been concerns whether there’s waste—where it’s not getting to the areas where it’s really needed. I do ask how you scrutinise and how you actually monitor and ensure that that money gets where it really needs to be. Concerns are big now over the BPS payments, and the question is: will the majority of farmers receive these in December, or just a few? Will it be rolled out consistently—[Interruption.] I am speaking. Will it be rolled out consistently, or will it just be on a piece-by-piece basis? Will the Minister be beginning an open dialogue with banks in the event of delays to payments that would badly affect our farmers' cash flows? Again, you would ask why the Welsh Government is taking a year out simply just to work out the amount of eligible land in Wales—a move labelled ridiculous by the NFU. Those are fundamental questions that need to be answered. The NFU has also called for clarity over whether the Welsh Government expects to be making agri-environment payments in Wales next month. The answer to that would be nice.
Minister, farmers are facing such severe delays to basic payments, and it is a failure on your Government in this regard. Farming is a business, and despite Labour's recent claims to be a pro-business Government, I doubt that many of our farmers here in Wales would agree with that. Communication is essential for any business, but no more so for those based in rural, often isolated, communities, and we all have many of those within our own constituencies. These are our food-producing champions, our custodians of our countryside, and, again, all impacting on our tourism industry.
Most of the requirements now are to fill in everything online, yet in some areas in my own constituency, not only do they have no broadband reception, they have very poor mobile coverage. What is actually happening fundamentally to address this? We've all witnessed swathes of closures of our post offices, our banks, our shops and pubs across rural Wales, and the Welsh Labour Government have just sat by and let this happen. These closures severely affect the communities they once served. Cuts to bus operator grants are hardly a proactive move in supporting our rural communities, imposed by this Government, meaning that any access to what remaining service there is is actually impossible. Reductions to community transport services mean that many are left now with no means of accessing our health services or shops, or even of going to town in order to actually socialise like everybody else. The effects of isolation and lack of access to service can be severely detrimental to both physical and mental health, yet simply ensuring good quality regular bus or community transport can make a real difference, but you go withdrawing the grants.
The Royal College of Midwives have criticised moves to centralise maternity services, and, again, in my constituency and across north Wales, there's a real fight back from the people who do not want their maternity services downgraded, especially where this will result in further isolation for those within our rural communities. We would create a dedicated position at the Cabinet table and ensure early payments for farmers so that they can plan their finances, and we would introduce a red meat charter, include a voluntary code of practice for supermarkets to dedicate floor space to promoting Welsh lamb and beef.