7. Will the First Minister make a statement on the provision of arts centres throughout Wales? OAQ(5)0208(FM)

Yes. Wales benefits from a comprehensive network of arts centres and venues that cover the length and breadth of the country.

Obviously, you will appreciate that, across Wales, one of the first ways that people can access the arts is in relation to small-scale arts centres. Therefore, I was really concerned that Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council has decided to close Pontardawe Arts Centre one day a week—the day of the week that community groups actually do use the centre. I was there recently to watch ‘The Revlon Girl’, which is a show I’m sure many of us have seen about the Aberfan disaster. I would be very concerned if the centre did close one day a week because, of course, they have vital services to be providing. Once it’s closing one day, it may be a slippery slope to closing more days of the week. So, would you join with me in trying to seek assurances from Neath Port Talbot council that they will not take this decision, and that they will keep the centre open for business?

Ultimately, of course, it is a matter for the council, but I hope that the draft budget will provide councils across Wales with a level of comfort, so that they feel that they do not have to take decisions along the lines that the Member has just described.

Thank you, First Minister, for your answer to Bethan Jenkins. May I acknowledge the value that Bethan has put on the role that Pontardawe Arts Centre plays in the community? I, myself, was with Bethan watching ‘The Revlon Girl’ there a few days ago. Would he also acknowledge—[Laughter.] Not exactly ‘with’. [Laughter.] Would he also acknowledge the broader role that arts centres play, not just as places of entertainment, important though that is, but as community hubs, helping to tackle isolation, offering a broader offering for schoolchildren in terms of education and general well-being? Would he join me in hoping that local authorities across Wales will look at all those considerations when they’re considering funding and support for the future?

Yes, absolutely. The Member makes a very good point about the educational purposes of arts centres. We shouldn't forget either that arts centres provide employment. Many years ago, I was at a very powerful lecture given by Dr Mererid Hopwood on culture as an economic driver, in Northern Ireland of all places. It emphasised very strongly how the arts can actually be used as a way of developing local economies as well. So, there are a number of areas where arts centres are important that go beyond what is immediately obvious to members of the public.

First Minister, one way of protecting our community arts centres, of course, is a similar model to that in England of the Localism Act 2011 in order to save community facilities. Seventy-eight per cent of respondents to your ‘Protecting Community Assets’ were in favour of such rights. Over the past 18 months, you've funded a community transfer support officer at a cost of £56,000 to the taxpayer. Could you advise the Chamber today of the meaningful outcomes of that post, how many community assets have been transferred as a result of that, and how you intend, as the First Minister of Wales, to drive that kind of agenda forward that helps us to protect our community assets?

There are plenty of examples where communities have taken over facilities in Wales. Not long ago, I was in Briton Ferry library, in fact, in David Rees's constituency, where the library had been taken over. But it's important to distinguish between helping local people to take over their facilities and forcing them to do so via the Localism Act. We prefer to take a voluntary approach, and we see good examples of that happening across Wales.