Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for International Relations and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 2:39 pm on 18 March 2020.
I'm grateful to the Minister for her reply, and obviously it's early days yet. But I'd be grateful if she can provide some further reassurance that she fully understands the financial impact on the Urdd—hopefully not, but possibly looking forward to the National Eisteddfod in the summer too—and we know that the margins on which these organisations operate are pretty slim anyway, and to lose the capacity to make some profit from running the centres and from the eisteddfod is a big blow for the Urdd. So, will the Minister guarantee to us that she will keep this under very close advisement, and that she will not rule out offering direct financial support, if that's the only way that we can ensure that this very important—? I think we can all be very proud that we have the biggest membership youth organisation in Europe in the Urdd. It's precious, it's priceless, not only because of the language, but because of all the opportunities it gives young people and it would be an absolute tragedy if this dreadful situation was allowed to bring to an end that amazing tradition.