, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Thank you. So, do you believe that, with an instance such as this and possibly something else that might follow a similar model, almost, funding should be taken from other departments? If there were to be a serious situation that was even worse than this in…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Thank you for that. Finally from me on this, your immediate predecessor in this role, when considering the maintenance issues at Amgueddfa Cymru and the National Library of Wales, she had made the case that they would need to be addressed through co-operation…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
So, you're minded to look into it.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
I'm sure it can, but in these instances, it doesn't seem to be working.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
In terms of what I think committee members have ourselves described as the crisis facing the arts and culture sectors, one of the ways in which that has gathered headlines in recent months has been the terrible effect on the buildings of the national library…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Thank you for that. We'll move on.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
I'm going to ask the Minister to come back on that, and then we're going to move on.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
We probably need to move on after this, but I know the Minister wanted to respond, and might want to bring Jason in, because I think Jason wanted to add something as well.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
That would be helpful.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Thank you. I'm keen for us to make some progress. Alun, I know you had a couple of questions on the national contemporary art gallery as well. Alun's favourite topic.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Right, I'm going to bring Heledd in.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
I know that Heledd wants to come in on this, but just on Alun's point, would you recognise, in Alun's framing, that the Welsh Government—it's an argument that we've made as a committee—has underfunded these sectors for a very long time?
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
But by a significantly higher—
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Is that something that you would hope to seek to emulate, perhaps?
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Forgive me interrupting you, Minister, but Scotland has faced a number of pressures as well, and they have chosen to increase arts funding.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Back to Alun.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Thank you for that.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Thank you.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Okay. Just before we come back to Alun, I think that, perhaps, the point that Members are alluding to would be that because of that difference in opinion between the arts council and the Government about whether there is a crisis, once there is an…
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Alun, just before you carry on, I think Heledd wants to say something
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Okay. Thank you for that. We'll move on to Alun.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Thank you.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
When you do—forgive me, Heledd—get that information, we’d be very grateful if you could share that with the committee, please.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Okay. Thank you for that. We'll move on. Heledd.
, Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee
Scrutiny of the Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session with the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
We'd all agree with that.
