The Minister for Natural Resources and Food in Wales, Alun Davies, has been fired from his position following ‘unacceptable’ behaviour relating to accessing financial information about opposition members of the Welsh Assembly.
The decision was taken by First Minister Carwyn Jones after it was found that Davies (pictured, right) had emailed civil servants asking them to provide him with financial information about opposition Assembly Members (AMs), including Antoinette Sandbach and Andrew RT Davies, that was not in the public domain.
These related to details of ‘Pillar 1’ and ‘Pillar 2’ farm subsidies, Europe-based payments allocated to recipients to sustainably manage agricultural land, paid to opposition AMs.
First Minister Carwyn Jones said Mr Davies' actions were "poorly judged" and "inappropriate".
In a statement, Jones said: “In recent days communications between the Minister for Natural and Resources and Food and civil servants in his division have been drawn to my attention.
“The emails indicate that the minister asked the civil service to give him private information about the financial interests of a number of members of this chamber. These relate to CAP payments made to these individuals.
“I believe that these requests were poorly judged, inappropriate and the fact that they were made at all is unacceptable to me as First Minister.
“As a result, I have asked the Minister for Natural Resources and Food to leave the government.
“I made this decision with some regret and would like to record my appreciation for the contribution that Alun Davies has undoubtedly made to the work of the government during his time in office.”
Instead of appointing a new minister, the Welsh Government has announced that Edwina Hart will take over responsibility for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (in addition to her existing responsibilities as Minister for Economy, Science and Transport) and will be supported by Rebecca Evans as Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries.
Former Environment Minister John Griffiths is to take over responsibility for environment policy.
The move comes just a week after Jones defended his decision not to fire Davies, after it was found he had broken the Ministerial Code by lobbying Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to build a race track in his Blaenau Gwent constituency. Despite claiming that he was writing to the body in his role as AM, it was found that this move conflicted with his role as Minister for Natural Resources and Food, which has oversight of NRW.
Read more about Natural Resources Wales and Alun Davies.
Get our weekly digest
resource.co article ai
How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.