Thank you very much, Llywydd. It’s a privilege for me to open this discussion on a matter within my cultural responsibilities, and in so doing I use the Government time at the Assembly to celebrate the development of cultural institutions—important institutions—and also to give Assembly Members and the public the opportunity, following the publication of this report, to discuss its content further and to help us in the process, as Government, in collaboration with the museum to strengthen our national institutions.

The national institutions dealing with heritage and history are institutions where, without being too nationalistic or romantic here, the heartbeat of the nation is to be heard, because these institutions offer a special experience for visitors to Wales, and they offer a sense of place and pride for communities in Wales. They are institutions that can be very useful in welcoming new arrivals and to explain the histories and the aspirations of people of Wales over the centuries, and also to offer experiences of history and evidence for people of all generations.

National Museum Wales, as you know, has seven locations scattered across Wales, and this institution is a vital part of the work of providing cultural experiences on people’s doorsteps almost, and the work of providing experiences also cares for our heritage. Apart from four visits to Llandudno, the place I have visited most since I came into this post is St Fagans, and the opportunity to revisit this location often recently has helped me to understand how much development and redevelopment has been made in supporting an investment of over £7 million by the Welsh Government. I was hugely impressed by the new facilities in St Fagans, and it’s clear that there is a long history of very hard work, passion and commitment from everyone from the skilled historic buildings unit, through to the general director and all of the staff who are so enthusiastic.

But, in the history of that institution, as with all institutions, there have been problems and there continue to be challenges. In response to the challenges and at the request of National Museum Wales itself, my predecessor, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, Ken Skates, commissioned this independent report that we are discussing today back in 2016. The ambition was to find a way that the Welsh Government and National Museum Wales could work together more effectively.

I’m very grateful to Dr Simon Thurley. I’m familiar with his work in English Heritage for many years. I’m very grateful to him for the responsibility he took for the review and the readable way that it was written. Indeed, it’s unusually readable in my experience of reading public reports, even in the field of culture. The report has succeeded to discuss the strengths and weaknesses, to note the issues, to consider opportunities and to put forward ideas of how the museum can move forward in several different areas.

As you see from reading the report, there are 17 recommendations. I don’t want to discuss all of these individually, but I welcome all contributions directly on these recommendation.