Dawn Bowden: To work with them, yes.
Dawn Bowden: I think you probably have to understand it from our perspective, because actually, working with UK Government is actually a contradiction in terms, because they don’t let you work with them; they dictate to you what they want to dictate to you, they trample all over devolved areas of competence by trying to directly bypass us and put money into places that don’t fall into our programme...
Dawn Bowden: Yes.
Dawn Bowden: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Thank you. Can I put on record, first, my thanks to the Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee for their in-depth and considered inquiry into the impact of rising costs on culture and sport, and for bringing this debate to the Senedd this afternoon? The impact of rising costs is particularly high across culture and sport...
Dawn Bowden: Yes, thank you, Delyth, and I think the intervention of the committee is very welcome and the support that the committee can offer here in terms of an inquiry to get beneath some of these issues, I think, would be very welcome and may be very, very helpful. But, again, I have to reiterate that I don't have the power or the authority to tell the WRU what they have to do. They are an...
Dawn Bowden: Well, thank you, Joyce, and many of those points that you raise, I think I have covered in responses to previous questions, and, again, I don't disagree with an awful lot of what you say. We have a responsibility as a Welsh Government, certainly, to ensure that bodies that we are financially involved with and that we have financial partnerships with are complying with rules, behaviour and...
Dawn Bowden: I heard that call for an independent regulator come from Tonia Antoniazzi in the programme. It's the first time I've heard that call made by anybody, so I would need to have some discussion with officials about what that might look like, how that would work in practice, what the legalities of that might be, how that would link in, for instance, with international bodies, because the national...
Dawn Bowden: Thanks, Heledd. Again, all very valid points that I would again associate myself with. The WRU has had the opportunity to address these issues over a period of time. The conversation I had with the chief executive this morning was that he set out to me a number of actions that the WRU has already taken. I told him in no uncertain terms that I felt that that needed to be far more explicit,...
Dawn Bowden: Thank you, Alun Davies, for those comments, and, again, I couldn't agree more with the issues that you raise. The need for cultural change is something that we know, in any organisation, is the most difficult thing to bring about. Cultural change takes time. It takes changes of not just policies, it takes changes of personnel, it takes changes of attitude, and it is rarely something that can...
Dawn Bowden: Again, can I thank James Evans for those very powerful comments, which I would associate myself with? And can I start by making some general points in response? Firstly, the issues raised by the BBC investigation programme are without doubt devastating, and I would like to reiterate that we recognise the courage that it took to speak out after experiencing any form of harassment—to do that...
Dawn Bowden: Can I thank James Evans for that question? I've met with the WRU twice in the last two days on the immediate actions that it must take to address the allegations set out in this BBC investigation.
Dawn Bowden: Diolch, Llywydd. I just think perhaps a fuller explanation of the circumstances would help the Senedd, and I'm not necessarily opposing Heledd Fychan's point of order in terms of getting some clarity around this and the way that the committee scrutiny takes place, but, just to put on record what actually happened, the weather, as you know, was very, very bad this morning and I nearly never...
Dawn Bowden: Indeed.
Dawn Bowden: It is a very real problem, Andrew, and I have it in my own constituency. There is not a single high-street branch now in the upper Rhymney valley, and we've now had to rely on mobile branches. So, Lloyd's Bank bring a mobile branch to Rhymney. I think, potentially, the answer is to look at a more hub-type of model for branches that can move around, but that is something that we really do need...
Dawn Bowden: Diolch, Llywydd. I do very much welcome this debate to note the importance of Small Business Saturday and to, of course, recognise the vital contribution that small businesses make in sustaining local economies, developing communities and creating jobs. And as others have already said, SMEs are the lifeblood of the Welsh economy and make up over 99 per cent of Welsh businesses, accounting for...
Dawn Bowden: —and how it could be developed. A couple of recommendations were focused on improving access to school and community facilities, and Members will be aware that the Minister for Education and Welsh Language has announced £24.9 million to support schools to operate and develop as community-focused schools, reaching out to engage with families and pupils, particularly those disadvantaged by...
Dawn Bowden: I absolutely agree with you, Alun. What I'm saying, what I'm trying to lay out here today, is that from the Welsh Government's perspective in relation to what we are able to invest in sporting facilities, both revenue and capital, we are trying to maximise the budget that we have to deliver the most effective outcomes. The committee also recommended establishing a pilot scheme similar to New...
Dawn Bowden: Indeed, of course I will.
Dawn Bowden: I know the committee has had concerns about the number of recommendations that were rejected, so I’d like to use this opportunity to expand on the reasons why and also to reassure Members that it’s not because I necessarily disagree with the findings. Recommendation 1 asks for a new national approach for participation in sport and physical activity in disadvantaged areas. I am not...
Dawn Bowden: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and can I thank Members for what was a very interesting and important debate this afternoon? And in the time available to me, I'm clearly not going to be able to cover each and every point that was raised this afternoon. I will try to concentrate my comments specifically on the report and its recommendations, and I'll pick up one or two others as I go through. But I am...
