Welsh Conservatives have today condemned the Welsh Government and the Liberal Democrats for spreading misinformation, amid claims that the UK Government Comprehensive Spending Review has cut the Welsh agricultural budget.
The Conservative Party 2019 Manifesto committed to guarantee the current annual budget to farmers in every year of this Parliament. The UK Government is delivering on this commitment through a combination of remaining EU funding which the Welsh Government is continuing to benefit from and replacement funding from the Treasury where EU funding has tapered off.
In 2019 the Welsh Government spent £337 million on agricultural support. In 2020-2021, the UK Government is spending £240 million on agricultural support for farmers in Wales and the EU are still providing WG with the remaining £97 million. Meaning that in total, agricultural support will remain at £337 million.
Commenting, Tomos Dafydd Davies said:
I want to put the record straight and challenge head on the falsehoods being spread by our political opponents. The UK Government has delivered on its commitment to maintain the level of funding to farmers in Wales and will continue to do so for the remainder of this Parliament. Last year, the Welsh Government received a total of £337 million in agricultural funding, and will receive a total of £337 million again this year."
The real scandal is the Welsh Government's threat to remove farmer’s direct payments to pay for schemes that they have overcommitted to when they still have an estimated £1.8 billion in emergency funding they have yet to spend."
