Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:10 pm on 4 March 2020.
Well, there were around 10 questions there, I think, but I will seek to answer some of them. I haven't responded correctly to the first question, I realise. I haven't had direct discussions with the broadcasters or with the rugby union on this issue. That was the response that I should have given initially.
I accept that the situation that we are in is that we have a system here of listing events. And, if we go back over the development of this system, back to the period prior to 2009, the consultative committee chaired by my colleague David Davies recommended, amongst other things, that the list should be reviewed more regularly than has been the case to date. The response that's been given, including a recent response given in Westminster, is that there is no intention by the current UK Government to review that list of events. But, having studied this issue, my view is that the way that these events are listed in this way is not appropriate in the days of digital communications, and that includes all aspects—not just broadcasting, but all platforms where people can follow sport.
But may I say one thing? I don't see it as my role as a Minister within the Welsh Government responsible for this area to go and ask Westminster would they be so kind as to listen to us. I believe—[Interruption.] I believe that it is about time for us to make it clear that the views of the Welsh Government should be considered centrally in decisions that have an impact upon us, and one of the weaknesses with this debate is that the description given in the original legislation talks about issues of national importance, and here we are back to this issue. There are four nations within the United Kingdom, and what is appropriate as the basis for the culture of this nation is certainly as important as any of the four nations of the union.