Thank you. I'd like to make a statement on the potential impact of Brexit on the organisations under my portfolio as committee Chair. I want to stress the effect of Brexit on our creative industries. If we cannot access the single market, and the free movement of goods and labour it allows, this will be just as damaging to the arts as it is to our farmers and manufacturers, though, according to the people who gave us evidence, this gets much less attention in the press. The creative industries are also heavily reliant on the single market, but they don’t receive the same level of attention in the media as car makers and food producers.

The Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee carried out an inquiry into the impact of Brexit on creative industries, the arts, heritage and the Welsh language in the autumn of last year. I thank all those who participated and I want to use this opportunity to highlight the concerns that they raised.

In a fortnight, we will, perhaps, leave the European Union, and, unfortunately, we are no closer to resolving these issues than we were in October, when we heard from stakeholders and the Welsh Government. Today, I want to highlight the dangers of Brexit. There are three specific problems, namely the loss of European funding, the loss of our ability to promote Wales on an international stage and the impact on Welsh-speaking communities.

In terms of EU funding, creative industries and performers in Wales have benefitted hugely from European funding. Once we leave, we may no longer benefit from funding through Creative Europe, Horizon 2020, Erasmus+ and the European regional development fund. This would leave a huge gap—for instance, the Creative Industries Federation reported that

‘The UK receives more funding than almost any other country through Creative Europe. The impact has been transformational in many parts of the UK’s nations and regions.’

EU funding has boosted our arts and heritage sectors and the creative industries. The legacy of this investment can be seen across the country, in the Galeri arts centre in Caernarfon and the Pontio arts centre in Bangor. There is a consensus in this Chamber that Wales must continue to receive the same level of funding that it would have had if the UK had remained in the EU. Since 2017, the UK Government has pledged that a UK shared prosperity fund will plug the gap, but it has still not published any details on how it will work. The current uncertainty about future funding is damaging to our creative industries and it’s vital that we obtain more certainty on the funding that will be available after we leave.