A new fund will help the rural economy of Wales recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A £106 Million Investment
A £106m financial investment will back hundreds of projects; boosting the rural economy, enhancing biodiversity and also improving food sector resilience throughout Wales. This will be for the next three years.
Other projects include:
- Woodland creation and restoration;
- Building resilience into Wales’ natural resources and improving biodiversity;
- Helping food businesses to improve their supply chains, business resilience;
- Supporting farm businesses to help ensure their sustainability;
- Delivering food and drink sector Covid-19 Recovery Strategy.
Welsh Government Background
The Welsh Government (Welsh: Llywodraeth Cymru) is the devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers, who attend cabinet meetings, and deputy ministers who do not, and also of counsel general. It is led by the first minister, usually the leader of the largest party in the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Welsh: Senedd Cymru), who selects ministers and deputy ministers with the approval of the Senedd.
The government is responsible for tabling policy in devolved areas (such as health, education, economic development, transport and local government) for consideration by the Senedd and implementing policies that it has approved.
The current Welsh Government is a Labour minority administration, following the 2021 Senedd election. Mark Drakeford has been the first minister of Wales since December 2018.
Prior to devolution in 1999, the Secretary of State for Wales and the Welsh Office carried out many executive functions for Wales. The Welsh Office was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It first appeared in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales and the Secretary of State for Wales was the highest position, a post created in October 1964. The post, however, had no Welsh electoral mandate and over the ensuing years, there were complaints of a “democratic deficit“.
For eleven years prior to 1997, a Secretary of State who did not represent a Welsh constituency in Wales had represented in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom at Westminster. These factors led to growing calls for political devolution. The Welsh Office disbanded on 1st July 1999 when most of its powers moved to the National Assembly for Wales.
Read more on the Government’s website here.
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