Key actions

A thriving rural economy:

• Publish a delivery plan to support the existing Food Strategy: Food for Wales, Food From Wales. We will also review this strategy to ensure that it remains fit for purpose.
• Support the food production industry by developing, promoting and marketing Welsh food, including the strengthening of supply chain linkages where appropriate.
• Apply best practice with the dairy, horticulture and fisheries sectors, taking a lead from the work of Hybu Cig Cymru (Meat Promotion Wales) in order to develop and strengthen the sector-based approach to develop these industries in Wales.
• Diversify and strengthen the rural economy by the promotion of new and innovative products and processing; the pursuit of new markets; the growth of cooperative marketing arrangements; and investment in new equipment and facilities.
• Invest in quality tourism business and more effectively market Wales’ visitor attractions, accommodation and food industry. We will seek to deliver a more holistic approach to marketing these opportunities.
• Ensure that the needs of Wales and Welsh farming are fully recognised within the UK negotiating position on future reform to the EU CAP and the Common Fisheries Policy.
• Promote sustainable agricultural, food and fisheries industries in discussions and negotiations with other UK Administrations and the European Commission.
• Maintain investment under the Wales Rural Development Plan to support the competitiveness of farming and forestry, promote sustainable land management and improve the quality of life in rural communities.
• Work with partners to support the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the Welsh Uplands.
• Invest in developing and promoting a sustainable fisheries industry under the Wales European Fisheries Fund.
• Ensure the CAP direct payments to farmers are made effectively, efficiently and in a timely manner.
• Review the regulation and administration associated with the agricultural industry. The first stage of this review will be published in early 2012.
• Work alongside the agricultural industry and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to implement all the recommendations of the MacDonald Review that are relevant to Wales. We will also take forward the Williams process to further reduce red tape and to review the business of government in the sector.
• Take a science-led approach to evaluate and review the best way of tackling Bovine TB.
• Review and test contingency plans for animal disease emergencies.
• Ensure delivery against the requirement plan for animal health.
• Prioritisation of the National Transport Plan to improve access to key sites and settlements, particularly in rural areas, with an emphasis on improving the quality and provision of healthy and more sustainable travel choices.

Ensuring rural communities have access to faster broadband speeds and new digital services:

• Work with Ofcom to ensure that regulation is used as a tool to ensure that rural communities have acceptable access to broadband and new digital services.
• Implement the Next Generation Broadband for Wales project to ensure that all residential premises and all businesses in Wales will have access to high speed broadband by 2015, with the ambition that 50 per cent or more have access to 100Mbps roll-out schedule.
• Ensure that as part of this, rural communities are not left behind in the development of fast broadband. We will continue to work to both eliminate “not-spots” and to ensure that there is fair and equal access to higher broadband speeds across the whole of Wales.
• Work to ensure wider access to mobile phone coverage in rural Wales by working with the communications regulator, Ofcom, and with the mobile industry, to identify mobile coverage gaps and the barriers that need to be overcome to address these gaps.

Improving public services for rural communities:

• Encourage the development of community transport schemes that meet the needs of those living in rural areas.
• Examine the best options for providing local bus services in rural areas that are both reliable and a viable means for travelling to work.
• Through the Rural Health Plan, ensure that all public services are delivered in ways that recognise the particular needs of rural Wales.
• Look to ensure that local health services are provided as close to people’s homes as possible, while acknowledging some specialist services will be located further afield in order to be most effective.
• Continue to improve access to care in rural areas through innovation such as telemedicine, mobile outreach services and building on community ownership and initiatives in line with the Rural Health Plan.
• Improve the TrawsCymru Network of Long Distance Bus Services.
• Explore options for bus services in rural areas, such as the Bwcabus pilot scheme.
• Continue to provide concessionary bus passes.
• Deliver an improved approach to “rural proofing” all Welsh Government strategies and policies.
• Monitor the use of the rural proofing tool kit throughout government.
• Share good practice in health services learnt from local innovation and development sites.
• Develop a model for rural health planning.
• Identify clinical leaders and develop infrastructure for telemedicine.
• Seek different ways of promoting social cohesion throughout rural and urban Wales.
• Examine how we can develop new models of service delivery in the deep rural areas.