Assembly on track to cutting farming red tape

Apr 1 2008 by Elin Jones, Western Mail

TODAY may be April 1 but for farmers in Wales the regulatory burden they face in order to meet both European and domestic legislation is no joke.

From listening to farmers it is clear to me that there is a need to consider lightening the load of red tape they encounter. To this end, I announced in January that the Welsh Assembly Government would carry out a review of bureaucracy in the farming industry.

A great deal of farmers’ time is taken up with farm checks and inspections, and it can be stressful and frustrating at times, particularly when it seems checks are being duplicated by various bodies. There is also a burden on the Government and other agencies involved in carrying out the range of checks in place. Of course, proper audit of the industry is essential but there is scope for streamlining which would allow farmers to concentrate on the important work of managing our countryside and producing food.

My first action was to appoint Peredur Hughes as an external adviser to the Welsh Assembly Government as we review farming industry checks. Peredur will be reporting directly to me and he will play a vital role, acting as a link between the internal review team in the Assembly Government and the industry and will ensure that the needs and views of both are represented throughout the review process. I am delighted to have Peredur on board and am sure the review will benefit from his vast experience.

Secondly, I set up a Stakeholder Group to examine which areas should be considered for inclusion in the review. I held a very productive first meeting with this group during the Assembly’s Easter break. The group’s priorities were very much in line with mine, namely that the Assembly Government should consider the inspection regime, the amount of paperwork farmers have to complete, and the sharing of information between statutory bodies.

The Assembly Government’s internal working group will now look into these issues in detail and make recommendations to me on how to proceed. One measure which can be considered quickly is a mapping exercise that will look at all the information requested by various bodies to identify where work overlaps and data can be shared. I think farmers would find it much less stressful if visits from different agencies could be coordinated whenever possible, perhaps performing bovine TV tests at the same time as inspections, for instance.

We are wasting no time with this review of red tape.