:...Secondly and finally, Llywydd, the
musicians' Union have been very active on Twitter
recently, and they've been raising some very extremely concerning
statistics regarding the plight of musicians
through the pandemic. Thirty-six per cent of
musicians have no work at all; 87 per cent will be
earning less than £20,000 per year. I know that has raised this
issue in Parliament. Given that the arts are largely devolved to
Wales, I wonder if we could have a statement from the Welsh
Government as to what support is being given to the arts during
this difficult time, particularly music. We know the importance
that music has not just for musicians, but for all
of us in terms of our mental health. I'm sure we want to listen to
music, particularly at the moment, through the pandemic, and I
think you'd agree with me that music deserves better.
(Minister for Finance and Trefnydd): I thank Nick
Ramsay for raising those issues. I will, if he doesn't mind,
invite him to write to the Minister for economy and transport on
that first issue, which relates to the number of train carriages
to carry young people from Abergavenny station. I think that
would be the quickest way to progress that particular query.
And then I absolutely recognise the impact that the coronavirus
has had on those people who are working within the music
industry, both in terms of organisations and choirs and so on,
but also freelancers who earn their living through the music
industry as well. That's why we're continuing to work alongside
our music stakeholder group to understand the concerns and the
impact of the coronavirus, and have also announced funding
through the £53 million cultural recovery fund. So, I would
advise organisations and individuals to explore whether some
financial support might be available to them through that
particular fund.
