I'm pleased to contribute to today's debate on e-sports and to agree with many of the comments made by my colleague David Melding in his eloquent opening of this debate. I must be honest, however, that my knowledge of this area is rather limited, but from what I've read over the past few days in bringing myself up to speed on the whole area of e-sports, this is a rapidly growing debate and one that I feel that, within Wales, we probably haven't been engaging with enough and that we should do more to engage with in future, because it is a growing and significant area of the creative industries, both in Wales and in the UK.

Now, David Melding mentioned the Government amendment. I think the Government amendment does deserve commendation for its own creativity—its deftness, I should say, as it neatly sidesteps the whole issue of e-sports and focuses the debate more on the subject of the creative industries. As David Melding said, that aside, we will not be supporting the Government amendment at the outset, but if that amendment does pass, we will then be supporting the amended motion, because the points it makes about the creative industries in Wales and their support and encouragement are very well-made points that deserve to be supported by all of us in this Chamber. 

But if I can turn to the substantive issue, the Bazalgette review made some important recommendations in this area, recognising the growing potential of e-sports for the economy whilst looking at ways in which we can guard against some of the more negative aspects that come out of this debate, such as the dangers of encouraging gambling, of encouraging participation in some of the less physical aspects of life that people do fear and have feared in the past about e-sports, which hopefully this debate will help to neutralise, for there are areas of e-sports that are beneficial and should be encouraged.

One thing is clear: e-sports and games, like it or not, are playing an increasing yet underrated role within the UK economy and the Welsh economy. It's an area that Wales can get ahead of the game with, if you pardon the pun, and that's not currently the case, with the geographical spread of jobs in this area uneven. In fact, the statistics that I looked at said that 46.7 per cent of the creative industry jobs are currently concentrated in London and the south-east of England, with a small percentage in Scotland; only 2.8 per cent currently in Wales, and I know we would all hope to change that. I think this can be overcome, but we have to accept it's not going to be easy, and it does touch many other areas.

The report that I mentioned shows that there's a strong link between the quality and accessibility of broadband connectivity and productivity, and that's straightforward to understand. The creative industries, particularly gaming and e-sports, require fast and reliable internet infrastructure and cloud-based services. So, premises have to have access to superfast broadband, and we know, in Wales, that has been an issue in the past. So, we must deal with any delays in rolling out phase 2 of Superfast Cymru, particularly in rural areas. Of course, rural areas, in my area, are also part of the wider Cardiff city region, and that region includes investment in digital technology, as does the Swansea city deal, indeed. So, e-sports can be addressed at the city region level, not just at the local level or indeed at the Welsh level.

So, what are the benefits of all this? Well, as David Melding said in opening, there are cognitive benefits of encouraging this area. There's also an application for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. E-sports can help develop skills such as improving decision making, promoting teamwork, communication skills, and developing digital technology and skills. These benefit a number of areas within and outside the digital sector. We know the importance—. We frequently talk about the importance, in this Chamber, of STEM to the wider Welsh economy. As a member of the cross-party group on science here in this Senedd, chaired ably by David Rees, it's an area that I care about and I know many AMs care about as well.

The Welsh Government's own STEM action plan acknowledges the need to address the issue that not enough young people are entering science learning and science jobs, and this seems to be one area where, using the creative industries and the development of e-sports, we can encourage more younger people into this sector. Universities across the UK are already ahead of the game. The University of York has been looking at this area. Let's hope that Welsh universities will also do the same, but let's, all of us, support this motion today and get on with the job of encouraging e-sports and supporting the creative industries in Wales.