4. Will the First Minister outline the Welsh Government's plans to protect listed buildings in Wales? OAQ54139

Listed buildings form an important part of our heritage and are given special protection in legislation, recently strengthened by the Historic Environment (Wales) Act, passed here in this National Assembly in 2016. Over this autumn Cadw will launch a training programme for local authority conservation teams, focusing on the role of enforcement action in protecting listed buildings.  

Yes, thanks for that, and I look forward to progress reports from Cadw. We did have a slightly different emphasis from you when you were answering a question from Nick Ramsay recently about a particular planning issue in his area. You said at that point that you were thinking about reviewing the rules around planning appeals. The question did relate to listed buildings, so in light of that response, could I ask you for any more detail on that and any time frame for progress on that?

Llywydd, let me be clear about the nature of my exchange with Nick Ramsay last week. Nick was referring to Troy House in his constituency, a listed building where recent attempts to find a future for it have been difficult. Nick Ramsay asked me a question about the way in which planning rules either support or get in the way of viable and sustainable use of those properties. I undertook to make sure that we looked at the planning rulebook so that, when a listed building does have a viable and sustainable use, the planning system takes into account its status as a listed building. Because in the end, Llywydd, listing by itself is not enough.

We have over 30,000 buildings listed here in Wales, and listing by itself does not guarantee that building a future. The building must have a future beyond listing and that means finding a use for it in the future that will give it that viable use and that long-term future. That's what we want to provide here in Wales. We provide financial assistance for historic community assets, community halls, historic places of worship and so on. The majority of listed buildings are in private hands, and private owners have to play their part too in finding those uses that will give those buildings a long-term future.

I was pleased to hear your reference there to places of worship, First Minister. One of the communities that was once very vibrant in Wales and, indeed, had faith communities across the country, was the Jewish community. Unfortunately, the numbers of people in the Jewish community across Wales have fallen in recent years, and they're pretty much confined now to Cardiff, Swansea and Llandudno in north Wales. Very often, though, those places of worship have been lost to future generations. And I know that Dawn Bowden, of course, has been ardently campaigning, quite rightly so, for a fantastic synagogue in her own constituency. But, unfortunately, I've lost places in my constituency, in places like Colwyn Bay, where there used to be a synagogue. Can you tell us what you are doing as a Government to particularly protect the last vestiges, if you like, of the Jewish community's heritage here in Wales, given the importance of this to the rich fabric and history of our nation?

I thank Darren Millar for that question. He's absolutely right to point to the changes in the nature of the Jewish community here in Wales, and the rich legacy, both in the built environment, but also in many other ways, which that community provides. In my own constituency, there is a listed frontage to a synagogue that Members will have noticed on Cathedral Road here. There are local activities. Darren Millar asked me last week about local history, and I'm sure that he will have seen a local exhibition in Bangor that was held earlier this year that traced the history of Jewish people in that part of Wales. And a really fascinating exhibition it was too.

I have been working with some Jewish interest groups to see whether we could have an exhibition here in the National Assembly, drawing attention to the history of Jewish people here in Wales. And the education Minister is meeting people on that score next week as well. So, there are steps we need to take, I agree, at this point in the history of that community, to make sure that people are aware of that very rich heritage. And where there are things that can be done to preserve it and to draw it to wider public attention, the Welsh Government will be keen to play our part in that.