Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: All right. That is no longer a matter for me because I don't organise the activities of the Assembly. We know that participating in recreational sport has a very positive impact, obviously, for all ages, and we work, as I said, with Sport Wales. We have been using these major organisations of ours to distribute funds and to assess applications and I look forward to applications for...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Clearly, we continue to assess the impact of the pandemic on all activities and especially when we have to respond as a Government collectively, with the support of the Assembly, to respond to those situations. The key thing is that we have a full and proper picture of the needs of each sector and I would encourage individual clubs and obviously the governing bodies of sporting clubs to...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Well, as you know, I do know the site you refer to and we are very keen in terms of our sports policy for full participation in cricket and in other sports by young men and young women, indeed, people of all ages who wish to participate. We are aware of the need for such a feasibility study and I would be very happy to see further evidence of the relationship that the club is developing with...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Well, the Welsh-medium sector, in an officially bilingual nation, and a Senedd where we meet where both languages are official, is central to everything that we do as a Government, of course. So there’s no question that we’re not treating Welsh language provision at the same level as English language provision. And indeed, provision in other languages spoken by the citizens of Wales is...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: I have read their recommendations, but I’m not going to respond directly to any taskforce, because I think it’s a self-appointed taskforce, not a Government taskforce.
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: My first discussion, as it happened, wasn’t with Reach, but with the National Union of Journalists. I have had a discussion with them, and there will be further discussions. I will also be having further discussions with Reach. But what I hope to establish is a model that will be able to provide public funding to English language journalism that corresponds to what is available in literary...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: We considered this issue carefully, and one of the things that’s been important to me over the years is that if people are to access public funds, that shouldn’t be available to them free of charge and that it’s just a matter of ticking the boxes, but that we also find new ways of working creatively in order to help to bring people through this crisis that we’re currently facing. That...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Well, I have an overall responsibility within Government for encouraging physical activity, which I still do myself. I'm not going to invite you to come and film me in Llandaff fields. I do, but it's a slow jogging process. But I think it's essential that we do, as a Government, repeat these messages, because one of the key things that I'm looking for, as we struggle through the pandemic, is...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: I will take note of that, because it's clearly something we need to ensure that we do provide and do respond to properly. I'm tempted to say we should ensure adequate supplies of thermals for all, but maybe that wouldn't be appropriate coming out of my budget; well, I haven't got much of a budget anyway. But to the extent that we could, I think that the obvious thing is to make people feel...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: I have visited the Kymin. I think it was one of the early properties—I think it was 1902 that it was a gift to the National Trust. It's a very distinctive site. I have had discussions with the National Trust, and my senior officials, especially the head of Cadw, have had discussions with the National Trust. I think the way to respond to your question is to assure you that I want a stronger...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Thank you for that. You may be aware that mid Wales, for me, is a very important, central part of the economy and the regional life of Wales. And we have emphasised in our tourism policy that we have, indeed, four regions in Wales, and therefore we encourage visitors whenever we can to mid Wales as a tourism destination, although, clearly, the slogan is still 'Visit Wales. Safely'.
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Indeed.
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: I have a huge personal affection and interest in the Welsh waterways. After all, they are the first conduits of our early industrial revolution and they occur now in bits. In fact, I have a map, which I can't reach for, sitting here, of the inland waterways of Wales and of the canal system in particular. The answer to your specific question is: yes, I'm very happy to continue further...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Well, this is a key part of the tourism relationship, of the visitor and host relationship, and people in the countryside clearly have to be positive in their welcome and reception of visitors, but visitors and walkers particularly have to have an understanding of the nature of the countryside communities, and of the misunderstanding very often of the relationship between rights of way,...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Yes, thank you very much, Darren. The support that we've given to the tourism industry in north Wales is the most generous in the United Kingdom, especially through the economic resilience fund. Tourism businesses in Wales as a whole benefited over £27 million from the first two phases of the economic resilience fund, of which £8 million pounds was spent in north Wales.
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: I am unable to answer the final part of that question. [Laughter.] But, no, I don't intend to participate, I don't think, and I wouldn't be allowed to as Minister for tourism. I couldn't pretend to be part of a tourist activity myself. But I do know Gwrych Castle, obviously, because I was brought up in the county of Conwy, and I am delighted with the very strong support that is being made...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: Thank you for that very positive question. It's extremely important that we recognise the value to Wales's tourism of visits from within Wales, as well as within our neighbouring countries, especially from over the border from England, as well as from Ireland. And I hope that the activities at Gwrych castle and the television support that will be provided for that in terms of marketing, and...
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: We fully recognise the pressures on the Tourism sector in Wales. We have provided considerable support via the Economic Resilience Fund and will continue to work with the sector to consider options for further support as well as pressing the UK Government to provide additional support.
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: At the start of the pandemic I established a Covid 19 Tourism taskforce which has met weekly and includes representatives from across the visitor economy and across Wales. I have attended each meeting in full in order to discuss all issues associated with the pandemic including the imposition and lifting of restrictions.
Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas: The Welsh Government is helping to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the heritage sector by providing financial support packages, guidance and advice. We are also in constant dialogue with the sector to better understand the impact of coronavirus and develop a long term vision for recovery.
