I rise also to speak as a member of the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee, and I was also glad to contribute to this short inquiry into the impact of Brexit on our creative industries, arts and heritage organisations in Wales, and the Welsh language. I wish to agree with the substantive issues raised today by the Chair and through the inquiry.

So, loss of freedom of movement will be extremely detrimental, as we know, to our orchestras, our ballet, our opera and our smaller touring companies, and also including the access and availability of our young people to the European Youth Orchestra. It is still very unclear at this very late hour what, if any, deal will be agreed upon.

I would also like to touch on some of my real concerns of the dangers that are predicted to await the Welsh arts and heritage sector and our international creative industries. Members will know that this is an area also close to my heart, so, Deputy Llywydd, it gives me no pleasure to say this: Prime Minister May's Brexit negotiations place a huge and regressive step to the Welsh cultural way of life. The Arts Council of Wales has estimated in the last tranche alone that our arts organisations in Wales received £18 million from the European structural investment fund, and this is money for the Welsh economy, it is money for the Welsh arts sector, and it is money for Welsh business.

I welcome very much the Welsh Labour Government's position set out in the policy paper, 'Securing Wales' Future'. To quote from it:

'During the referendum campaign voters in Wales were assured that leaving the EU would not result in Wales being worse off and it is vital to public faith in political process that this promise is honoured.'

Never has that been more important. Wales, as has been stated, benefits immeasurably from Horizon 2020, Erasmus+, Creative Europe, the Wales-Ireland programme, and much, much more that benefits our younger people, our older communities and our economies across Wales. I agree very much with Bethan Sayed that there is a consensus in this Chamber that Wales must continue to receive every single penny and level of funding that it would have had if the UK had remained in the EU. The shared prosperity fund must honour that commitment. The threats to the Welsh cultural sector are clear, but what I want to underscore is that Welsh Labour Government have played a vital and pivotal role in flagging up these concerns and putting direct pressure on the UK Tory Government to live up to their promises to the people of Wales.

So, if Brexit comes to pass along any of the lines presently envisaged, then it will mean that Wales will have to work even harder to be recognised, it will have to work even harder to export our work internationally, and it will have to work even harder to participate on the international stage that our artists and production companies have struggled so hard to find a footing in. Their excellence cannot be displaced, and it must work, finally, even harder to attract funding for Welsh arts in a climate of cuts to the Welsh budget. This is a travesty, and I believe strongly that the Welsh Government will continue to place this at the very heart of their business and negotiations as we move forward.