‘Welsh Government will be free to help

UK FARMING Minister George Eustice has confirmed that the Welsh Government will be free to take specific action to support Welsh hill farmers once the country leaves the EU.

The impact of Brexit on Wales’ lamb industry has been a key source of concern and the full details of how agriculture will function across the UK have yet to be thrashed out.

Last year Damien Green – who was at the centre of the negotiations with the devolved governments until his resignation – warned of the need to avoid “subsidy wars” with Wales and Scotland trying to help sheep farmers.

But yesterday Mr Eustice faced the Welsh Affairs committee and stressed the freedom the Welsh Government will have to take action.

When asked if it will be possible to “do something specifically only in Wales to support Welsh hill farmers,” he said: “Yes, basically... With the prevalence of hill farming they may design their own schemes for hill farmers.”

Mr Eustice said Britain would have to “learn as a country to take responsibility” and “not always say that we need the EU to tell us what to do”.

He said a “cultural shift” was required for politicians and the civil service and the question should no longer be “How do we obey the EU rules?”

Mr Eustice expected UK-wide standards would be wanted in areas such as pesticide and fertiliser regulation as some aspects of animal welfare – such as cage sizes for poultry.

His meeting with MPs comes on the heels of the Welsh Government giving its backing to the EU Withdrawal Bill in the wake of assurances concerning how the UK government will seek its consent as new UK-wide rules – known as frameworks – are put in place.

When asked if the UK government would retain the power to act in devolved areas, Mr Eustice said: “Put bluntly, I suppose, yes.”

But he added: “The undertaking in this agreement we’ve reached with the Welsh Government is that they would