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00:00culture within the organisation. The CEO has stood down, two senior executives are leaving
00:05and board members are on the verge of resigning. There's been no board minutes published since
00:102022, no up-to-date financial statements or no annual reports on their website since 2021.
00:17This is a very concerning position for HCC to find itself in.
00:21The body underpins an industry that's been valued at over a billion pounds to Wales.
00:26So, can you explain, please, the steps that you are taking as the Cabinet Secretary
00:30to address the concerns that have been raised about HCC and the culture within the organisation
00:35as the Welsh Government is the sole member of the company and the ultimate controlling party of HCC?
00:41Thank you for that question. Clearly, we are aware and we note the concerns over
00:47issues to do with internal governance of Hubby Keep Cymru, but what I can tell you is I met
00:52only within the last week or fortnight with the chair of Hubby Keep Cymru to seek assurances
00:58which stakeholders will be really focused on, on the performance of Hubby Keep Cymru for the
01:05red meat sector. Is it doing what it needs to do? Is it engaging with stakeholders and so on?
01:11And what I can say is that at that meeting, I sought and was given those assurances. And I
01:17note, by the way, that HCC, I understand, is contacting stakeholders to actually assure them
01:25that the Welsh lamb campaign is due to launch next month to reach over 20 million target consumers in
01:31key regions. Their attendant trade shows this month in the US as part of ongoing efforts developing
01:37the US market for Welsh lamb. That's part of a series of trade events that they'll be at.
01:43They're continuing to work proactively with processors and exporters to support the development
01:49of key Welsh lamb accounts at home and overseas. They're working on their R&D projects, including
01:55grass check, GB and RAM compare and so on. So, in terms of their day-to-day business and their
02:01performance, they're getting on with it. I've had those reassurances that performance is not
02:06affected, their engagement with stakeholders is, but clearly I'm aware, as you are, of the internal
02:12Government's issues, and I'm sure they are focused on resolving them.
02:16Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I know you realise, as I do, it's a very critical time for the
02:20agricultural sector across Wales. Our farmers do want to produce the highest quality food and have
02:26that food exported to every single market that's available to them. Reports of our industry body
02:32being off the mark and not having any strategic vision is very, very damaging for the sector,
02:36and it is undermining farmers' confidence in actually paying their levy to HCC.
02:42It doesn't have a permanent CEO at the moment. We're aware that the current CEO who was there
02:47has stood down, and a lot of people in the industry as well are very concerned whether
02:51the board and the chairman of the board have got the power and the levers that they need to
02:56actually turn the organisation around. The industry is losing faith, Cabinet Secretary.
03:01I know there are board members currently who are standing down. I want to know, are you making any
03:05interim arrangements to put people on to that board with the relevant expertise that they need
03:10to get this turned around so our farmers can have confidence in that body?
03:14Well, first of all, just to say this is notóand I hope I was clear in my initial responseóthis
03:20is an organisation who is continuing to do its day-to-day business and is performing on
03:25behalf of its stakeholders, and it's important, James, that we make that message very, very clear.
03:30There is a difference between what we have all heard you said today on the floor of the Senate
03:36about the issues of internal governance, and they do need, of course, to deal with that,
03:41and they are dealing with that, and it is for Hubby Keep Cymru to work through that.
03:45There is an interim chief executive, of course, in place. It's been in place since January.
03:51The chair I met with recently, but as I reported to you in my initial responseóalthough I could
03:58go further as well, but I'm sure Hubby Keep Cymru would be happy to put some of this information
04:03out there as wellóon the day-to-day business and their engagement both domestically and
04:07internationally in promoting the interests of our red meat sector, they are doing it.
04:12They are not losing focus at all. They are very focused on doing this, and, in fact,
04:17we know from recent years and on an ongoing basis how important Hubby Keep Cymru is to the success
04:24of our red meat sector. So, I can give you that assurance based on the meeting that I held
04:29recently with the chair, that there is an interim chief executive in place. As other
04:34appointments need to be made, they will be elevated up to me to make decisions on them.
04:39But I have had those reassurances on performance, and it's important to say that here publicly
04:45rather than exacerbate what is a difficult issue in terms of governance.
04:50Nick Ramsay AM I don't like to exacerbate the
04:52Cabinet, so what I'm trying to do is just explain the situation that actually the industry finds
04:56itself in. People have lost a bit of confidence in HCC, and I think it's right that we try and
05:01rebuild that, because what I and the Welsh Conservatives would like to see, Cabinet
05:04Secretary, and a lot of the industry would like to see, is a fully independent meat marketing
05:08board for Wales run by farmers and processors, for farmers and processors, who can actually
05:14directly elect people onto their boards, and actually see our industry body being taken
05:19away from the hands of Welsh Government, because we need it to be fully focused on its responsibility
05:25to develop and promote our Welsh meat sector here around Wales. Farmers and processors
05:31fund HCC through the levy. I know Welsh Government put a little bit of money into it to actually
05:35keep it going, but a lot of farmers I'm speaking to, Cabinet Secretary, are telling me, take
05:40it away from Welsh Government, give it back to the industry, give it to the processors,
05:44let them directly appoint people onto that board, and if they don't perform, they can
05:48take them away. I think that's a better way for us to do that, rather than have the guiding
05:53hand of Government over it. So, would you agree with me that it's actually a position
05:56we need to move to, similar to the way that Beef and Lamb New Zealand works? It's industry-led
06:00and it actually delivers for our farmers. It doesn't have Government tending to control
06:04and being the sole party in it.
06:05Alun Davies AM Well, that's not the universal voice that
06:09I've heard from all farmers, and I've certainly heard from many farmers and those in the red
06:16meat supply chain that welcome the work that HBK Cymru has done over many years and want
06:22to see it continuing. But I hear what you're saying, you've got an alternative way forward.
06:29But it isn't the universal voice that I've heard from farmers. What farmers want currently
06:32is to know that HBK Cymru will do the job on their behalf, and their performance is
06:37up to spec. So, I think in this current situation, whilst you may have models of different ways
06:46forward for representation of the red meat sector, we need to ensure that the current
06:51HBK Cymru actually performs on its day-to-day basis now, and for, as I outlined in my initial
06:58response there, all the work that they're engaged in, both domestically and internationally,
07:02to get us into existing and new markets, extend our reach into existing markets, expand into
07:08new markets in the year ahead. And they have a busy itinerary ahead.