Lesley Griffiths AM, Minister for Energy, Environment and Rural Affairs
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
I hosted the first quadrilateral of my ministerial counterparts from across the UK to discuss EU transition in November 2016. Since that time, we have met regularly in what has become the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (IMG). These meetings are essential to discuss, and where possible agree, planning for and contingency measures to help mitigate potential impacts of the UK’s exit from the EU.
The focus of the latest meeting, on the 24 June, was on our readiness for a possible no deal exit at the end of October, which continues to be a top priority. I am concerned businesses, particularly in the food supply chain, are not sufficiently prepared for such a Brexit. We also discussed a programme of the key strands of our work programme up to the end of 2019. As always, funding was discussed, however, these discussions were limited due to the absence of a Minister from the UK Treasury despite several requests for such a presence. I will continue to push for this at the next meeting in September
A communiqué regarding this meeting can be found on the UK Government website.
The next meeting will be on 16 September.