I'd like to thank the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee for their report and to thank the clerks for helping with the inquiry. The inquiry into the funding of the arts predates my membership of the committee, so, unfortunately, I was unable to interact with the witnesses, but I would also like to thank them for providing robust evidence.

There are those who believe that, in a time with so many competing calls on dwindling public funds, public funding for the arts is an unaffordable luxury, but I am not one of them. As our committee Chair rightly highlights, the arts illuminate and enrich our lives. They are an indispensable part of our society, and they bring wide-ranging benefits to us all.

The amount we spend on the arts equates to just 0.17 per cent of the Welsh budget, yet the arts not only play a vital role in our economy, but also help put Wales on the map. According to the Welsh Government's own figures, we have over 5,300 creative businesses in Wales, which generate over £2.1 billion in annual turnover, and give employment to over 49,000 people. The arts are a major tourist draw, representing 32 per cent of all visits to the UK and 42 per cent of all inbound tourism-related expenditure, to say nothing of the enrichment they deliver to our well-being, which is incalculable.

Over the last decade, public funding for the arts has been cut by over 10 per cent, and the Welsh Government have indicated that greater cuts are to come by asking the sector to reduce its reliance on public funds. However, as the committee discovered, doing so would be very difficult for arts organisations. Unfortunately, we don't have a great philanthropic tradition in this country, simply because The Sunday Times rich list isn't littered with Welsh sons and daughters and we can't rely on the largesse of billionaires. We have to find other means of supplementing the funds of Welsh arts organisations.

The committee considered a range of options, and its 10 recommendations are aimed at maximising the opportunities for alternative sources of funding. One thing is clear, the arts in Wales must continue to receive public funding and in order to reduce their reliance on that funding need some Government support. I am pleased that the Minister accepts, at least in principle, all the committee’s recommendations. 

In relation to recommendation 8, I am pleased that the Minister recognises how hard it is for small arts organisations to employ specialist fundraisers and therefore attract donors. The Minister says he will ask the Arts Council of Wales to look sympathetically at extending its resilience programme, and to encourage arts and businesses to promote options by which smaller organisations might share the services and expertise of a professional fundraiser. I would ask the Minister to go further. We shouldn't be asking or encouraging; these services have to be provided, so we should be directing and requiring. Access to a shared pool of professional fundraisers is essential if we are to decrease arts organisations' reliance on public funds. Diolch yn fawr. Thank you.