Thank you for contacting me regarding the Habitat Wales Scheme. I can appreciate that this is a nervous time for those who have been participating in the Glastir schemes, as they come to an end in December and are replaced by the Habitat Wales Scheme.
My Welsh Conservative and I colleagues have been calling on the Welsh Government to extend Glastir for 2024, as this would have offered farmers in Wales certainty. Therefore, I am disappointed that the Welsh Government chose to ignore this request and look to devise a new scheme, for only 12 months, before the Sustainable Farming Scheme launches in 2025.
Following the announced cuts to the Rural Affairs budget made by the Finance Minister on Tuesday October 17th, we are yet to hear what the total budget will be for the Habitat Wales Scheme, meaning farmers are in the dark as to how much support is available to them. This means that the agri-environmental targets that the Welsh Government want to reach will be harder to achieve as farmers will be less incentivised to sign up.
I appreciate that this is a worrying time, and that there is a real possibility of much of the good work completed under the Glastir Schemes being undone due to the Welsh Government’s inability to forward plan and their cuts to the Rural Affairs budget.Â
Thank you for raising this matter with me. I and my Welsh Conservative colleagues will continue to push for clarity and urgency from the Welsh Government on the Habitat Wales Scheme.
