The next item is a statement by the Chair of the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee on the committee’s approach to its remit and how it plans to engage with the public in Wales. I call, therefore, on the Chair of the committee, Bethan Jenkins.

A presentation was shown to accompany the debate. The presentation can be accessed by following this link:

Presentation.

Thank you very much, Llywydd. This is the first time that this Assembly has established a committee that will be responsible for communications, broadcasting and the media—a committee dedicated to holding broadcasters and other media to account. This is an area of vital importance to Wales. We need a media that holds up a mirror to this country and explains to citizens how we are changing as a nation. And this Assembly should be ensuring that the public is properly served by those who are spending public money on their behalf.

Although competence for broadcasting and the media is currently limited, there is now a consensus, in this place and with the Welsh Government and in other institutions, that the media and the broadcasters are accountable to the National Assembly for their responsibilities and commitments in Wales. This committee will provide the necessary focus for this accountability, and I am very proud to have been elected as its Chair.

Fodd bynnag, mae ein cylch gwaith yn llawer ehangach na chyfathrebu. Mae diwylliant, y celfyddydau a’r amgylchedd hanesyddol—elfennau allweddol yn y modd yr ydym yn gweld ac yn mynegi ein hunain fel cenedl—hefyd yn rhan o rôl y pwyllgor. Dyma’r pethau sy’n cyfoethogi ein bywydau ac sy’n ein gwneud yn unigryw. Maent yn darparu cyfoeth gwirioneddol o ran sicrhau bod Cymru yn cael ei hadnabod ledled y byd.

Yr iaith Gymraeg yw sylfaen ein diwylliant a’n treftadaeth, a’r cyfrwng ar gyfer cymaint o’r hyn sy’n unigryw am ein celfyddydau. Pa un a ydym yn ei siarad ai peidio, mae’n un o’r nodweddion sy’n diffinio orau beth yw bod yn Gymro. Mae’r iaith yn eiddo i bob un ohonom, ac felly rwy’n falch fod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi gosod targed uchelgeisiol o 1 filiwn o siaradwyr Cymraeg erbyn 2050.

There is no doubt it is an ambitious target, and as much as the committee supports the Welsh Government in achieving it, it is crucial that the strategy and the specific staging points along the way are rigorously scrutinised so that we as Assembly Members can satisfy ourselves that they are realistic and achievable.

Before the summer recess, the committee agreed to conduct a public consultation on what it should prioritise in this fifth Assembly. We received a wide range of responses, across all the areas of our remit, from organisations and individuals interested in our work via social media, email, direct messaging—you name it—whichever means was easiest for the public to get in touch with us. In the summer, I also conducted a live broadcast on Facebook—I believe that the Llywydd also did one—explaining the work of the committee, which received almost 2,000 unique views.

Last week, the committee used these responses to inform and guide us as we considered our priorities for this Assembly. As a result, we have agreed that our first formal inquiry should concentrate upon how the goal of 1 million Welsh speakers can be achieved. This will be a relatively short and focused inquiry that will investigate the challenges facing this ambition, while seeking to influence how it can be achieved.

The committee also intends to conduct a number of other inquiries. We are concerned about the continuing decline of local media and local news journalism in Wales. Some of you may have heard that MagNet, the Port Talbot hyperlocal service, published its last edition this weekend. An inquiry to find real, lasting solutions will be one of our early priorities.

We are concerned that Wales is rarely portrayed on United Kingdom broadcast networks and we intend to do work on this. I am pleased that Tony Hall, director general of the BBC, will appear before the committee on 2 November, where I expect him to face quite difficult questions on this issue from Members.

The role of radio in Wales needs more consideration. Some of the most popular public and commercial radio stations operating in Wales provide virtually no specific Welsh content and, particularly, no news from Wales. Next year, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will be reviewing the remit, funding and accountability of S4C. We will need to be fully involved in that review and look to influence its outcome.

Rydym wedi derbyn nifer o awgrymiadau eraill drwy ymgynghori â’r cyhoedd, pob un ohonynt yn werth eu hystyried. Felly, cawsom y syniad y dylai’r cyhoedd benderfynu beth y dylai ein hymchwiliad llawn nesaf ganolbwyntio arno, ar ôl i’r gwaith a wnaethom ar strategaeth yr iaith Gymraeg ddod i ben. Credaf fy mod yn iawn i ddweud mai dyma fydd y tro cyntaf i’r dylanwad uniongyrchol hwn ar ein gwaith ddigwydd. Ydym, rydym i gyd yn ymgynghori ac yn ymgysylltu gyda’n hetholwyr cystal ag y gallwn fel Aelodau Cynulliad, ond mae ymchwil a wnaed gan Dr Andy Williamson yn dangos bod angen i ni ddatblygu sut y mae pobl yn helpu i wneud penderfyniadau yma, fel y gallant lunio’r agenda a theimlo’u bod wedi eu grymuso’n well, gobeithio, drwy’r prosesau democrataidd hyn. Sefydlwyd y sefydliad hwn i fod yn ffordd o symud penderfyniadau am fywydau pobl yn agosach at y rhai y maent yn effeithio arnynt, a chredaf mai dyma’r cam nesaf yn yr uchelgais hwnnw. Felly, byddwn yn awr yn cynnal pôl ar-lein—gallwch weld y gwaith graffeg yma o’ch cwmpas heddiw, gwaith medrus ein tîm cyfathrebu—yn ogystal â chaniatáu i bobl gyfrannu yn y ffyrdd mwy traddodiadol. Felly, byddwn yn caniatáu i bobl gymryd rhan yn y pôl ar bapur ac yn anfon y wybodaeth yn ôl yn rhad ac am ddim—rhag ofn y bydd unrhyw un yn gofyn y cwestiwn hwnnw i mi wedyn—a byddwn yn ei lansio yr wythnos nesaf.

Felly, byddwn yn gofyn i’r cyhoedd pa un o’r syniadau canlynol y maent yn eu hoffi: cryfhau cyfranogiad a gwella hygyrchedd gwleidyddiaeth; cadw treftadaeth ddiwylliannol leol yng Nghymru; sut y mae hanes yn cael ei ddysgu yng Nghymru, yn enwedig diwylliant a threftadaeth Cymru; sut i ddatblygu a hyrwyddo brand Cymru; adolygiad Llywodraeth Cymru o ddarpariaeth amgueddfeydd lleol yng Nghymru; cefnogi a datblygu ffurfiau celf unigryw a thraddodiadol yng Nghymru; ariannu’r celfyddydau ar lawr gwlad ac yn lleol; strategaeth ar gyfer ffioedd artistiaid a thelerau ar gyfer y celfyddydau gweledol a chymhwysol yng Nghymru; datblygu’r diwydiant cerddoriaeth yng Nghymru; cyllid ar gyfer addysg gerddorol a mynediad at addysg gerddorol; cymorth dwyieithog ar gyfer pobl fyddar a thrwm eu clyw a phobl ag anawsterau cyfathrebu. Nawr, nid yw hyn yn golygu y byddwn yn anwybyddu popeth heblaw’r mater mwyaf poblogaidd. Bydd ymateb y cyhoedd i’r awgrymiadau hyn yn ein helpu i benderfynu ar ein blaenoriaethau yn nes ymlaen. Ac rydym yn llawn fwriadu gwneud gwaith dilynol ar yr holl feysydd hyn drwy ymholiadau ffurfiol posibl, drwy ofyn cwestiynau i Weinidogion, neu drwy geisio dadleuon yn y Cyfarfod Llawn.

The committee now has before it a varied and important programme of work. We’ve listened to the public, and I fully intend, as Chair, to continue this new way forward, with people as partners in our work. I now welcome questions from other Members. Thank you very much.

Suzy Davies.

Thank you, Llywydd, and thank you for that, Bethan.

Mewn gwirionedd, gobeithiaf fod y Cynulliad wedi ei ysbrydoli gan y ffordd y mae’r pwyllgor hwn yn ceisio ymgysylltu’n ehangach, ac wrth hynny yr hyn rwy’n ei olygu yw bod ymgysylltu yn broses ddwy ffordd. Mae’n un o’r geiriau jargon hynny rydym yn eu cymryd yn ganiataol, mewn gwirionedd, ond nid yw hyn yn ymwneud yn unig â’r pwyllgor yn chwilio am wybodaeth neu syniadau o’r tu allan i’r adeilad hwn, ond mewn gwirionedd, mae’n ymwneud hefyd â chaniatáu i bobl Cymru ddylanwadu ar yr agenda yn y lle hwn.

Credaf efallai mai un o’r sylwadau a wnaed gan bob un ohonom ynglŷn â’r Cynulliad diwethaf—ac rwy’n gobeithio nad yw hyn yn swnio’n rhy feirniadol—ond yn sicr, wrth weithio ar bwyllgorau, roeddem yn tueddu i weld yr un bobl yn ymateb i’r ymgynghoriadau, yr un bobl yn dod i roi tystiolaeth, a’r dystiolaeth honno weithiau’n ymylu ar fod yn rhagweladwy. Felly, credaf fod hwn yn gam mawr ymlaen, a dyna pam y gobeithiaf y bydd yn ysbrydoli pwyllgorau eraill i edrych ar y ffordd y mae’r pwyllgor hwn yn gwneud ei waith, fel y gallwn glywed, mewn gwirionedd, gan bobl nad ydym yn clywed ganddynt fel arfer. Ac mae’n debyg mai dyma un o fy nghwestiynau anoddach i chi, Bethan, yn dilyn y datganiad hwn: pwy arall rydym yn gobeithio ymgysylltu â hwy, ac a yw hon yn rhyw fath o ymdrech gyffredinol i siarad â phawb yng Nghymru, neu a yw’r pwyllgor hwn yn mynd i weithio drwy gyfres o flaenoriaethau grwpiau newydd, ac efallai ardaloedd daearyddol newydd yng Nghymru nad ydynt o reidrwydd yn cymryd rhan mewn ymgynghoriadau yn draddodiadol?

Croesawaf y ffocws a roesoch yn eich cyflwyniad yn awr ar y gwaith y byddwn yn ei wneud ar y cyfryngau. Yn amlwg, yn y tymor byr i’r tymor canolig, mae’n anochel y byddwn yn siarad cryn dipyn am y cyfryngau, gydag adolygiad S4C ar y gorwel. Gobeithiaf, wrth gwrs, y byddwn yn parhau i siarad fel Cynulliad am rôl y cyfryngau yn craffu ar y lle hwn. Un o’n rolau fel y pwyllgor, wrth gwrs, yw craffu ar y Llywodraeth; ni allwn adael hynny i’r cyfryngau. Ac efallai mai dyma’r adeg briodol i ddweud y byddai datganiad heddiw ar Cymru Hanesyddol wedi cael ei gyflwyno fel datganiad llafar ddoe yn hytrach na heddiw, gan y gallai fod wedi rhoi cyfle i ni graffu arnoch chi, Ysgrifennydd Cabinet, yn hytrach na bod yn rhaid i mi holi Bethan yn awr. A gawn ni ofyn i’n pwyllgor graffu ar Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet mewn perthynas â materion syml megis a fydd dod â swyddogaethau masnachol at ei gilydd yn helpu mewn gwirionedd i sicrhau ffynonellau incwm newydd i Cadw ac Amgueddfa Cymru, a pham fod uno Cadw ac Amgueddfa Cymru yn cael ei ystyried o gwbl? Rwy’n sicr fod y Llywodraeth yn dal i ddod dros y frwydr yn y Cynulliad diwethaf ynglŷn â’r comisiwn brenhinol.

Felly, fy nghwestiwn mewn perthynas â hynny yw hwn: gyda chymaint o’r sefydliadau o fewn cylch gwaith y pwyllgor hwn naill ai’n rhan o’r Llywodraeth, neu hyd yn oed os ydynt yn gyrff hyd braich, yn cael eu hariannu’n sylweddol gan y Llywodraeth, tybed a fyddech yn ategu fy ngobaith y gallem weld rhai o’r cyrff hyn eu hunain yn dod gerbron ein pwyllgor yn hytrach na gorfod hidlo cwestiynau drwy Weinidog. Nid wyf yn gwybod os gallwch ateb y cwestiwn hwnnw heddiw, ond byddwn wrth fy modd pe baech yn dweud y byddech.

Yna, yn olaf, yn amlwg rydym yn siarad am gelfyddyd, treftadaeth a diwylliant yn aml yn ein pwyllgor, ac rwy’n meddwl tybed sut y mae’r pwyllgor yn mynd i weithio gyda phwyllgorau eraill ar faterion trawsbynciol. Yn amlwg, rydym yn sôn am y celfyddydau a’u defnydd mewn iechyd meddwl, efallai, neu adfywio treftadaeth. Nid wyf am i hynny ddisgyn oddi ar ein hagenda pum mlynedd yn y tymor hwy. Diolch.

Diolch. Thank you, Suzy. Thank you for the endorsement, I think, which we all agreed to, that we are trying to do things differently. I think, from my perspective, the reason why I personally—and I’m sure other Members will have an opinion—wanted to allow for the public to directly decide on what we did was because—and this isn’t meant as an offence to anybody sitting here—sometimes we do have our own pet projects and sometimes we do then push those forward, and we may not know—we may not know—that that is what people want us to discuss. So, this is merely a pilot to see whether this works. I’m not saying it will be the answer to all our problems but I think that it’s something we should at least try. We have five years as a committee and I feel, as a communications committee, it would be remiss of us not to try and look at those new ways of working and to try and seek to reach those people who don’t necessarily talk to us on a regular basis. But also, as you will know, we have an excellent outreach team and I hope they can help us with this activity so that they can then delve deeper into talking to people who are not the usual suspects. I think that may go a long way in helping us along the line also.

In relation to Historic Wales, yes, I’m not the person to be able to answer that—that would be elevating myself to another position if I did—but I think that it would be something that we potentially could look at as a committee. If there are going to be quite stark changes—we don’t know yet; there is a group looking at it—I think it would merit us at least having a view. But, of course, we would have to make that decision as a committee, as you will know.

I do agree with you on the arm’s-length agenda, personally. I know that the Cabinet Secretary gives a remit letter to such bodies, such as the Arts Council of Wales, but I think it would aid us in understanding their work better if we had them in. It doesn’t have to be formally: it could be us visiting like we did today with ITV and BBC. But it would be good, I suppose, to get it on the record so that we can understand fully how they operate.

So, I hope that answers most of your questions. On the cross-cutting issues, of course we may want to look at, for example, Welsh language education. So, of course, then we would want to discuss with the Children, Young People and Education Committee if they were doing work. Obviously, we wouldn’t want to duplicate it. We harp on enough about duplication from the Welsh Government. I don’t think it would look very good if we started doing it here in this institution.

Thank you very much, Llywydd. It’s very pleasant to participate in this debate and also to be able to welcome Bethan in her innovative role as Chair of the culture committee that operates in an innovative way, as we’ve already heard, that is this communication. Given that communication is central to the work of this committee, our communication is also innovative, as Bethan has just set out, and is highlighted in the way in which we’ve been meeting and communicating with the public over the summer. Of course, that kind of communication in scrutinising the way in which our media communicates messages about this place and about Wales in the British context will also be an integral part of the new brief of this committee.

I was going to ask you about historic Wales, as this issue has been raised over the past few days. There was some mention in passing of Historic Wales in the last committee meeting, and the Cabinet Secretary alluded to what was about to take place. Of course, we have received this written statement today, but I think that there’s quite a bit of concern about this, and a number of people are concerned about what all of this is going to mean for our national museum, for example, not forgetting Cadw and our other national institutions. I believe that the subject deserves a deeper level of scrutiny than has been possible to date, and, as I said in this Chamber yesterday afternoon, we would wish to have a full debate in Government time on this important issue. People at the grass roots are very concerned and I believe that we should air these issues openly. So, I would ask for a full debate in Government time in this Chamber on Historic Wales. Following on what Suzy’s just said, we would expect as a committee to be able to scrutinise this issue, because there’s a great deal of unease, and I think we need to reflect that unease in our activities in this place.

Otherwise, I will just close by agreeing with you that there will be some cross-cutting issues that will cut across the remit of more than one committee, and of course, we’ll be looking at the Welsh language in this committee, but, bearing in mind that the Government and all of us will be contributing to this target of a million Welsh speakers by halfway through this century—of course, partially, the majority of the work will be undertaken in the education sector—and thinking of our scrutiny work as a committee, then we will have to look at how we’re going to achieve that outcome. So, we will also have to work with the education committee in that regard. Thank you for a wonderful report and also for mature and innovative leadership.

Thank you. I didn’t pay Dai to say those kind words. [Interruption.] It would be a scandal, of course, if that had happened.

I think it is important that we should communicate with the people of Wales in an innovative way. As I said in response to Suzy Davies, we have to look at models from other nations across the globe to see how they communicate with people. There isn’t one silver bullet that any of us has in this room. We all do our best, but there may be some innovative, new and radical ways that we should adopt. There are ideas coming into my head and people say, ‘Well, no, perhaps we shouldn’t try that’. For example, I thought that we could perhaps have a choir singing the committee’s terms of reference, but perhaps that was just a step too far for the clerks in the committee team. There are ways of doing these things. I was just making the point that, if we are a committee for the media and the arts, then how do we use the arts in our work, rather than simply bringing people in to give evidence to the committee? I do think that there is something creative that we could look at here.

Again, Dai Lloyd mentioned Historic Wales and, again, I would say of course it is something that we as a committee will consider. It would be very strange indeed if something were to be done without us taking note of it, but it’s not for me alone to make that decision. I would like to discuss that further with each member of the committee. It is important that national institutions are protected and it’s important that we take a strong stance in that regard.

In terms of the target of a million Welsh speakers, I do hope that people will be content that this committee’s first focus will be the Welsh language and that people can have a clear input into the Minister’s work in terms of his new strategy to reach that innovative target of a million Welsh speakers. I do think it’s important that we play a central role in ensuring that we do shape what the Government does to ensure that that target is achievable and that the Government can attain that target and that we’re not in a situation where that doesn’t happen and that we need to review the situation again. There are very many people who are in favour and are supportive of that objective and it’s important that we are supportive of that too.

Can I also congratulate the Chair and the committee on looking at innovative ways of engaging with the public and the committee? You mentioned media, and it’s been discussed quite a lot, but we tend to focus on the BBC and S4C an awful lot in the media, and in your statement you didn’t mention the hyperlocal media and the loss of the ‘Port Talbot MagNet’. You and I have both supported that publication. Will you also look at social media and the implications of social media on the communication and media activities, because there could be a situation where we’re seeing social media overtaking the role of hyperlocal media activities and, as a consequence, we’re seen the loss of those beneficial publications to our local communities? Therefore, in your investigation, will you ensure that that aspect is considered very much and the impact of that aspect is considered?

Thank you for your comments, David. Obviously, I share your sadness, really, that the ‘Port Talbot MagNet’ is coming to an end. Whenever I was speaking at various media events, I’d always show them as a shining light in the bleakness that is the situation where we’ve had ‘The Merthyr Express’, ‘The Neath Guardian’ and others close down their offices, taking away that ability for people to go and to talk to reporters to tell them their stories about their communities. I think that’s something that the ‘MagNet’ was seeking to do in an effective way, and not, perhaps, superficial stories—they were taking on quite hard-hitting stories, and you and I have both given them such stories. So, I think it’s important for that to be retained.

But what I think—and I think other members of the committee agree with me here, because we’ve talked about it privately—is that people often describe the problem in relation to hyperlocal and finding solutions, but nobody actually has the solution. So, if we do a piece of work, I’m very keen on making sure that we hone in on what those solutions could be. Obviously, Golwg360 has had Government money for that website through the medium of Welsh, but do we want to see that happening across the board? Will they feel that they’d have a vested interest in the news if they do receive Government funding? Is there another way of doing it? Can we look at local businesses, SMEs in the food sector, in the agricultural sector, to see how, perhaps, that could then relate to the media sector in Wales? I think we put it into a little box and think that there aren’t other ways of doing it.

But I take your point in relation to social media and the implications. I feel that many of us, like I and the Presiding Officer, have done Facebook live because we feel we have to create our own agenda if there is a lack of news provision or news outlets for us here in Wales. So, social media, I think, sometimes is filling that gap. I don’t necessarily know yet—you may know—if it will actually be a threat to such start-ups, but that’s something that we could potentially look at as a committee. But thank you for your comments.

I thank the committee Chair.