Can I thank David Melding for his contribution and say that I agree entirely that there must be intellectual integrity, and that that integrity should be maintained and protected? There should be the freedom to challenge, to be disruptive and also to be innovative. I believe it was Professor Dai Smith who said that it was the role of culture and cultural institutions to be disruptive of the establishment and the status quo, but equally I think sometimes government needs to be innovative and to challenge as well. That’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re making sure that those who currently enjoy the freedom and the independence to act creatively, swiftly, dynamically continue to do so without being protectionist.

Actually, what I’m doing is the complete opposite of what you’re warning us not to do, and never to do, because I’m saying to Cadw: ‘Please, be free. Be free of any sort of inefficient operation that you currently experience, or any control by a Minister.’ You know, it’s quite astonishing that a tweet from Cadw has to be approved by me in this day and age of immediate social media. That just makes the whole system inefficient and ineffectual. It doesn’t allow them to respond quickly, and surely that is not in my interests, that is not in the Government’s interests, and that is not in Cadw’s interests or Wales’s interests. So, actually, what I’m doing is the complete opposite of what those who feared this process suggested I was doing. I’m actually giving away, I’m not taking more control, and I’m doing that to make sure that the institutions themselves together are stronger.

David Melding also made a very strong point about the museum’s current activities, and it’s my belief that intellectual integrity and inclusive appeal are not mutually exclusive, and that together—again, together—the institutions, I believe, can broaden the range of people that are attracted to their operations and activities, for the betterment of all of Wales and all of our communities.

Our national heritage institutions will play a crucial role in improving the well-being of Wales and I hope that, by working together, they will reap the rewards of the work that they will do for the country.