Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:12 pm on 8 November 2016.
Thank you. I’d like to thank David Rowlands for his questions and just to reflect, actually, as I know that this has been contentious, and Dai Lloyd quoted Dai Smith in his contribution, and perhaps I’ll reflect on another quote of Dai Smith’s, when he said that culture should be disruptive. Perhaps these proposals are disruptive, but in the right way because they are focusing attention clearly on how the sector can collaborate more for mutual benefit right across libraries, museums and potentially archives as well, drawing more attention to the fantastic heritage sector that we should be able to boast about in Wales. Indeed, Dai Smith, just as Dai Lloyd said, identified that commercial functions are secondary. Yes, they are of secondary importance, but it doesn’t mean that they are anything but vital, especially during a period of such severe financial hardship for many people, for many organisations, for the entire country.
In terms of the options and whether this would be another quango, I’ve been very clear that it should be the steering group that brings forward recommendations for us to then assess and then to consult on publicly. I am conscious of the need to avoid any additional administration or bureaucracy. The whole point of this work is to make sure that all institutions are as free, as flexible, as nimble, but also as creative and determined as possible to benefit from an increase in commercial income and to be more proactive and engaging with more communities and more people who, traditionally, have felt disengaged or distant from cultural institutions for all manner of reasons, whether it be physical or psychological barriers—to overcome those barriers must be a primary objective of the institutions. That’s why we set up the Fusion programme, which was aimed at fusing together institutions—cultural institutions—with community groups to harness the power of culture to tackle poverty. I would like to see more of that activity carried out with more partners as well. That’s why still I am saying, ‘Collaborate more’. At the moment, it’s just not good enough. We’ve got examples of where collaboration has worked, but it’s just not enough, I’m afraid. So, we do wish to see a greater degree of collaboration, but it’s going to be for the steering group to bring forward recommendations. And you’re absolutely right—Cadw did have its best ever year. And it was because of the success of Cadw that we were then able to allocate additional resource to the national museum and the national library. Let’s all play to win together, rather than compete within the same team. This is about one sector wanting to be the best in the world, so let’s do it as one united team.