6. Will the First Minister outline what the Welsh Government is doing to support sites of historical interest across Wales? OAQ51347

There are 4,000 ancient monuments listed across Wales, and 30,000 buildings across the country protected through listing also.

First Minister, you will be aware that I, for many years, have argued that local authorities should have a statutory duty to safeguard our war memorials. Now, I acknowledge, as part of the commemoration of the first world war, that your Government has launched a grant scheme to support monuments here in Wales, and I do understand that grants of up to £10,000 are available under that programme. So, can you tell us how successful that programme has been to date? And would you commit to publishing an analysis of where that money has been spent, so that we can see that all parts of Wales have benefited from that funding?

We are extremely confident that it's been a very successful scheme. Bearing in mind that the centenary of the first world war has been noted over the past few years, it's a way of ensuring that the monuments are renewed and maintained in a way that people can understand what they are, and that there's a feeling of pride in them as well. And, of course, we do give funding to Cadw to ensure that they have capital funding too. I have no problem whatsoever as regards giving you a schedule of the expenditure on the scheme. I'm sure that can be done, and we are confident that the scheme has been extremely successful.

First Minister, I've spoken many times in the Chamber about the need to capitalise on the industrial heritage of Merthyr Tydfil as part of an economic strategy for the whole area, and I'm sure that you'll join me in thanking the organisers and the many experts who recently gave their time at the industrial heritage charrette that was held in Cyfarthfa Castle, which looked at new and innovative ways to develop some of the incredible heritage sites and develop a unique attraction. Would you agree that, in looking to protect historic sites, we must find ways to protect the future of sites like the blast furnaces at Cyfarthfa before we lose them forever, and, at the same time, lose the potential opportunities that they bring to strengthen the local economy?

I do, and I think the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2016 has placed us at the forefront of the UK nations in the protection and management of the historic environment. A large proportion of that Act has now been implemented. In addition, of course, I mentioned earlier that Cadw has allocated over £22 million in capital funding to support the maintenance of historic buildings and scheduled monuments in Wales since 2011, with revenue support for maintenance around £6.5 million. So, there is money available, and we want to make sure that we are able to protect as much of Wales's industrial heritage as possible.