Wales farm subsidy replacement plans to be delayed

Lake Mymbyr, Snowdonia, Wales, with pink flowers in the foreground Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption Farmers in Wales would be offered money to carry out work which protects and enhances the environment

Major reforms needed to replace EU agriculture subsidies are not now expected to be introduced until after the next assembly elections.

The Welsh Government had hoped to phase in its plans to replace the funding after Brexit.

But AMs are unlikely to pass legislation for farm support schemes until after the vote in 2021.

Ministers are also holding off replacing EU environmental protections while talks with UK ministers are held.

First Minister Mark Drakeford will announce his legislative programme for the next year in the Senedd on Tuesday.

Proposals in the pipeline include plans to overhaul the way Wales' bus network is regulated.

Ministers want to give councils the powers to run bus services directly and to set the routes operators run.

The Public Transport Bill would aim to boost services by allowing councils to franchise them, in a similar way to how buses are run in London.

But separate plans to reform taxi regulation are likely to be shelved until the next assembly term.

Image caption Cardiff Bus is one of two council-owned bus firms in the UK

Mr Drakeford's statement is expected to confirm reforms to farming subsidies are delayed.

Initially the Welsh Government had hoped to phase in its plans, including a new funding scheme to replace EU farm subsidies, from 2021 but said last week that the ongoing Brexit uncertainty had held them up.

A second consultation on revised proposals is underway, with another promised for the autumn.

Farmers in Wales would be offered money to carry out work which protects and enhances the environment, under the post-Brexit proposals.

Plaid Cymru said the "U-turn" was the "right-decision".

"We have been alone in the assembly calling on the government to let the Brexit dust settle before introducing legislation for this once-in-a-generation change to agricultural support," said rural affairs spokesman Llyr Gruffydd.

Image caption Proposals for new legislation include votes for 16 and 17 year olds at council elections

Meanwhile it is understood that Mr Drakeford will not push ahead in the next year with a new law on replacing the EU's environmental protections.

It is unclear if Wales will legislate at all, with talks ongoing with other governments in the UK about whether to implement the changes at a UK or Welsh level.

At the moment anyone can complain for free to the European Commission, who can then choose to investigate and fine member states if they are breaching environmental law.

Other proposals are thought to include:

A bill extending the notice period landlords have to give before they can take back possession of a property could also be introduced.

Laws that could mean firms that sign up to fair employment practices are more likely to get government funding are also expected to be announced by the end of the assembly term, but not in the next year.

Image caption Plaid Cymru said Mark Drakeford's government had "run out of their own ideas"

Welsh Conservative leader Paul Davies accused Mr Drakeford of being "haunted by his empty promises" on the environment.

"It's incredibly disheartening to see that after 20 years of Labour governing Wales, all this programme has to offer is a rehashing of the same old failed ideas," he said.

Plaid Cymru's leader Adam Price said it was a "bland legislative programme from a Labour government that has clearly run out of their own ideas".

A Brexit Party assembly group spokesman said the programme "says as much about where he won't be legislating as where he will".