MS: I wanted to ask about
support for the arts. The arts are vitally important for our
culture, for our language, and potentially for tourism as well.
Many people working in the arts are freelancers or gig economy
workers who may—or probably haven't had any support from the
Government so far. Large audience events are unlikely to be safe
for people in the old way soon, and so what happens to the firm of
public address system operators—four of them that work in my
constituency—who are unable to have any work at the moment?
Would you be prepared to consider an idea that has been proposed
to the Scottish Government for a national arts force, which would
see the arts be a part of well-being and recovery, where
Musicians and artists can go into schools,
hospitals and care homes, and even provide online courses?
Imagine the PA firm being able to teach sound engineering skills
to young people in the Rhondda throughout the summer holidays.
Would you be prepared to look at that recommendation that has
gone to the Scottish Government and consider a similar scheme to
operate in Wales? We can't rely on the Westminster Government to
plug this gap. It's something that the Welsh Government needs to
do, and it needs to do it urgently.
MS (First Minister of
Wales): Llywydd, I thank for that. She'll know that my
colleague has published a
lengthy written statement this week on support for the arts here
in Wales. I'm very happy to look at the idea that has set out. She's sounding
quite like Franklin Delano Roosevelt in that, and a great deal
more convincingly than others who have made claims to that
mantle, if I may say so. So, we will, by all means, look at it.
This is another example, actually, Llywydd, of where the UK
Government has constantly implied that it is on the brink of
publishing a support package for a sector, just as it did for
steel last week. So, for many weeks, it has trailed an imminent
announcement about a package of support for the arts. That
support package needs to come forward, and if it did, it would
materially strengthen our ability to put into practice the sort
of scheme that has talked about this morning.
