National Assembly for Wales (Legislative Competence) (Agriculture and Rural Development) Order 2009

We also warmly welcome the legislative competence order. I agree that the system of LCOs is taking a long time to be processed. More attention needs to be paid to dispatch the orders much more quickly. Some of us who were involved in the passage of the Government of Wales Act 2006 identified this as a potential problem and were not satisfied with the process at the time, but the Act is as it is. This is an important LCO in as much as the body, Hybu Cig Cymru, replaces the Meat and Livestock Commission functions in Wales. A long time ago, I spent some time driving a Land Rover and weight trays around to weigh lots of animals before the MLC got down to that task. The red meat industry in Wales is very important, as has been said. Red meat is the backbone of Welsh farming in the uplands, particularly on grade 4 and 5 land, where there are no alternative enterprises. It is interesting to note that production is very sustainable: the inputs are low, grass is the main product required, and that fulfils the sustainability objectives of the Welsh Assembly—something aimed at in the Government of Wales Act 1998. There are more sheep in Wales than in the whole of Scotland, for example, and it is very important that they are marketed and promoted well. Similarly, beef, single-suckled beef in particular, is a very high quality product produced mainly in the hills of Wales. The order includes marketing and processing functions, which we in Wales regard as extremely important in increasing the value of the product and improving incomes in the uplands, in particular. Hybu Cig Cymru, which has been in existence for some time now—Meat Promotion Wales is the translation—is doing very well. It has very good officers and is developing a very effective export trade already. The branding of red meat products from Wales is extremely important, and this LCO will push that along substantially and be of great benefit to the farming community. This is an important LCO to all those involved. In some parts of Wales, 15 per cent of the population is still involved in agriculture and down-the-line processing and marketing of the product. Like one or two other noble Lords here, I was involved in the passage of the NERC Act, which has been mentioned. It is good to see that the powers in the Act have been devolved to Welsh Assembly Government Ministers, who have been wise enough further to devolve that to the body I just mentioned, Hybu Cig Cymru, to deliver the marketing and promotion of the product. With the levy board, the levy gives far greater accountability within Wales. As a result of the Radcliffe review, the time was ripe to rephrase the levy boards in the United Kingdom, and this has given a lot of highly desirable powers to Wales. We believe that this LCO is a good thing and that it will improve marketing; indeed, it is already doing so. It will continue to give a great fillip to the red meat industry in Wales.