Welsh Conservatives have expressed concerns over significant cuts to the Environment & Rural Affairs portfolio, which they say shows how far down the ‘pecking order’ the portfolio has fallen.

A 15% real terms cut to funding for environment and rural affairs in last week’s budget agreement between Labour and Plaid Cymru has received sting rebukes from wildlife and countryside charities.

They claim an ‘apparent gap’ is growing between ministerial pledges on the environment and the Welsh Government’s actions.

Shadow Environment Secretary, David Melding, said:

“A fog of confusion surrounds the Welsh Government’s budget and it should be clarified immediately. We need to know how much of the environment budget has been transferred for environmental spending by local government.

“If there are no guarantees that this will in fact be spent on the environment then this is a huge blow. What cannot be denied, it seems, is that a lot less will be spent on creating a greener, cleaner Wales.”

Shadow Rural Affairs Secretary, Paul Davies, said:

“These cuts show just how far down the pecking order of priorities the Environment & Rural Affairs portfolio has slipped.

“Labour and Plaid’s budget agreement means a real terms cut of 15%, which will impact significantly upon efforts to tackle bovine TB, and on efforts to preserve our precious countryside.”