4. Will the First Minister outline how the Welsh Government is promoting Newport's heritage and culture? OAQ54977

The Welsh Government invests directly in key elements of the rich heritage and culture of Newport. At the same time, we act with others—the local authority, private businesses, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Cadw, for example—to promote the city's many attractions, both at home and abroad.

Thank you, First Minister. As you said, we have a very rich and diverse history in Newport that we're very proud of, from our Chartist heritage to our majestic transporter bridge and maritime history, the splendid Tredegar House and our Roman fortress at Caerleon.

Last week, it was a pleasure to welcome the Deputy Minister to Caerleon for the reopening of the National Roman Legion Museum. While the museum has been closed to the public for renovation, the educational visits continued, with over 20,000 visitors last year. In Caerleon, we have a Roman legacy with an amphitheatre, baths and barracks that rival anywhere in the UK. However, to make the most of this wonderful site, National Museum Wales, Cadw and Newport City Council, along with Welsh Government, must all work together to promote Caerleon as a popular tourist destination, not just within Newport, but within the rest of Wales and to attract visitors from further afield.

Firstly, will the First Minister join me in recognising the important educational work of National Museum Wales's offer to schools and our young people in Caerleon, and also look at practical ways that the Welsh Government can redouble its efforts to support Newport council, National Museum Wales and Cadw to come together to ensure that what we have to offer in Caerleon is maximised and utilised fully?

Can I thank Jayne Bryant for that? I see that the Deputy Minister is a regular visitor to Newport, having been to the transporter bridge recently as well, and I look forward to developing possibilities for making more of that attraction in Newport in the future. 

Of course, Jayne Bryant is right in what she says about the importance of the ancient Roman town of Caerleon—the most complete Roman amphitheatre in Britain, the only Roman legionary barracks on view anywhere in Europe—and it's great to see that the work that has been done to repair it, some of the essential work to the roof of the museum, has now been completed and that it's open fully to the public.

I want to just pay tribute to the people who work at the museum for the way in which they kept those educational services going, even when the museum itself wasn't open to the public in the way that it had been previously. It's a really important part of what it does to make sure that those live experiences that it offers to young people—that bring the history of Caerleon and Wales's history alive for them—now continues and develops. And, of course the Welsh Government will work, as I said in my original answer, in partnership with the local authority, with Cadw and others, to make the very most of that really important site.