WELSH CONSERVATIVE Shadow Farming Minister Andrew RT Davies has called on Plaid Cymru ministers to stop funding public information campaigns which he says undermine Welsh meat.

The criticism follows a Welsh Government response to a written question from Welsh Conservative Senedd Leader Darren Millar, which showed £662,000 was allocated to the Climate Action Wales campaign during 2025-26.

Examples of the campaign include online advice on ‘green food choices’, sustainable eating and meat-free options, alongside wider material on energy, travel and consumer behaviour.

The campaign gives advice on reducing carbon emissions through choices on food, travel, energy and purchasing. Its sustainable food guidance says meat is among the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from ruminant livestock such as cows and sheep.

It also advises people to limit red and processed meat, while saying those who do eat meat should try to buy local, sustainably farmed produce where available.

Mr Davies said Welsh meat should be promoted rather than undermined.

He said: “Welsh meat is of the highest quality and the industry forms a key part of our economy.

“Plaid Cymru separatists must celebrate it, not fund campaigns that undermine Welsh meat.

“No project aimed at discouraging meat consumption should receive public funds.”

The Welsh Government response said the figures related to public information campaigns connected to the previous government’s policies.

Claire Archibald says proposals affecting Cilgerran and Manorbier show rural families risk losing real parental choice

A REFORM UK Senedd member has asked the Welsh Government to intervene over the future of Church schools in West Wales, following growing concern about proposals affecting rural schools in Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion.

Claire Archibald MS, who represents Ceredigion Penfro, has written to Education Minister Anna Brychan asking what safeguards are in place to protect Church schools, Christian education and parental choice.

Her intervention follows months of controversy over the future of rural education provision, including proposals affecting Cilgerran Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled School and Manorbier Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled School.

Pembrokeshire County Council has consulted on plans to discontinue Cilgerran Church in Wales VC School and establish a new 3-11 community school in its place.

In Manorbier, the council has also progressed proposals to discontinue the village’s Church in Wales school, which has been at the centre of a long-running row following a serious fire.

Ms Archibald said the issue should not be treated as a simple administrative change.

She said: “Christianity has helped shape Wales for generations. It is part of our history, our values, and the life of many of our villages and towns.

“Church schools matter. They give parents the choice of a Christian education for their children, and in rural areas that choice can be lost very easily when a school is closed, reorganised, or stripped of its Church status.

“I fully understand that councils face financial pressures and difficult decisions, but we cannot allow those pressures to quietly erase Christian school provision from rural Wales.

“These are not just technical changes. They affect parental choice, community life, and the future of Christian education in Wales.”

Rural school concerns

The Herald has previously reported on strong opposition to changes at Cilgerran, where many parents and residents have argued that the school’s Church status is part of its identity and community role.

The Manorbier case has also attracted significant local attention, with campaigners arguing that the village school should be protected following the disruption caused by the fire and the temporary relocation of pupils.

Ms Archibald said the pattern across rural Wales was worrying.

She has also raised concerns about proposals affecting village schools in Ceredigion, including Ysgol Llanfihangel y Creuddyn, a community school on a Church in Wales-owned site.

She said: “Parents should not be told they have choice on paper when the nearest realistic alternative may be many miles away.

“In rural areas, distance matters. Transport matters. Community matters.

“I have asked the Education Minister to set out what safeguards are in place to protect Church schools, Christian education, rural communities, and parental choice before these decisions are allowed to go ahead.”

Questions for ministers

In her letter, Ms Archibald asked the Welsh Government to confirm what assessment has been made of Church schools closed, discontinued, or proposed for category change in Wales.

She has also asked whether stronger guidance will be issued to councils considering proposals that affect Church schools.

The MS has requested that the minister meet affected parents, governors, local representatives and the relevant dioceses.

Councils have previously argued that school reorganisation proposals must take account of pupil numbers, building conditions, budgets, educational standards and long-term sustainability.

However, campaigners say that in rural communities the closure or reclassification of a school can have consequences beyond education, including the loss of community identity, longer journeys for children and fewer realistic choices for parents.

THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING WALES has warned that Wales “cannot afford” to lose newly qualified nurses after the First Minister refused to give a direct guarantee that student nurses would be given jobs in NHS Wales.

The row followed First Minister’s Questions on Tuesday (Jun 9), when Reform Wales leader Dan Thomas MS asked Rhun ap Iorwerth whether he would guarantee jobs for student nurses when they graduate.

Mr Thomas said it was unacceptable for newly qualified nurses, doctors and paramedics to struggle to find work while the NHS remained under pressure.

The First Minister did not give a direct yes or no answer, but said workforce planning was a “core part” of the Welsh Government’s health strategy.

He told the Senedd: “Putting a robust plan in place to make sure that people who have decided to devote themselves to careers in nursing or medicine or the allied health professions is a core part of our delivery of a workforce strategy.

“That is why my Cabinet Minister for Health and Care has already begun the work of ensuring that we are able to support students to have careers within the NHS.”

Following the exchange, RCN Wales Executive Director Nicola Williams said the union welcomed the First Minister’s recognition of the importance of helping nurses build their futures in Wales.

But she said nursing students had invested years of hard work, commitment and personal sacrifice to qualify.

She said: “At a time when Wales continues to face nursing workforce shortages and increasing demand on health services, it is essential that newly registered nurses are able to secure employment and put their skills into practice.

“RCN Wales has consistently raised concerns about reports of graduate nurses struggling to find substantive posts following qualification. This is not only deeply worrying for those individuals, but also represents a missed opportunity for the NHS to retain talented professionals at the beginning of their careers.”

Ms Williams said RCN Wales would seek assurances at a forthcoming workforce summit that a clear and sustainable plan would be developed to support newly registered nurses into employment.

She added: “Wales cannot afford to lose skilled, motivated nurses at the point they enter the profession.”

Mr Thomas said after FMQs: “Our health service is in desperate need of qualified staff. It is unacceptable that newly qualified nurses, doctors and paramedics are being told to find work outside of Wales.

“I was disappointed that the First Minister could not commit to ensuring these hardworking, qualified professionals can move into the frontline roles our NHS so desperately needs to fill.”

The issue comes amid wider concerns about NHS workforce planning in Wales, with unions warning that a failure to create enough entry-level posts risks losing newly trained staff just as services face growing pressure.