2. Will the First Minister make a statement on the support provided to local media by the Welsh Government in order to keep residents informed during the Covid-19 pandemic? OQ55303

I thank Mike Hedges for that question. Llywydd, the Welsh Government has supported both local print and broadcast media during the pandemic. Paid advertising has been placed as part of our 'Keep Wales Safe' campaign. Direct grant assistance has been provided through the independent community journalism fund, and we have worked with Ofcom to ensure that Welsh outlets have benefited from the community radio fund.

Mike Hedges? Mike Hedges, your microphone.

I'll unmute myself again—sorry. Thank you, First Minister. The media has been crucial for coverage of both the good and bad news in these challenging times, and, sadly, the coverage of lives lost has not been limited to coronavirus, but also we have seen the shocking killing of George Floyd in America and the horrific knife attack in Reading over the weekend.

During the floods earlier this year, and during the coronavirus lockdown, local radio stations such as Swansea Sound, and newspapers such as the South Wales Evening Post have kept residents informed of what's going on. As the First Minister is aware, the Sunday morning breakfast show on Swansea Sound allows local people to question politicians and also express their points of view. Will the First Minister join me and politicians across the Chamber in calling on the owners of Swansea Sound to keep local programmes and local presenters for the benefit of the people of south-west Wales? 

Well, Llywydd, I thank Mike Hedges for that. He makes a very important point about the significance of local media in making sure that local residents are properly informed, not just of COVID-19, but of that wider range of things. Indeed, in Wales, people will have been thinking of the family and friends of people who were killed in that outrage in Reading at the weekend, and local media will have played a very important part in explaining to that local community the nature of that event.

Llywydd, I've a very warm memory of joining Mike Hedges early one September morning to go and take listeners' questions at Swansea Sound. I remember being very impressed by the relaxed professionalism of the presenter there, Kev Johns, and, indeed, the alertness of Swansea Sound listeners early on in the morning, in phoning in to put questions to us. So, I'm aware, of course, that Swansea Sound has been part of Bauer's purchase of 56 different radio stations across the United Kingdom. My understanding is that no format change request has been received by Ofcom from that company for Swansea Sound, and that means that the station, in whatever future name or arrangement it has, will continue to be required to fulfil the original format, and that includes commitments relating to the Welsh language and local news and information.

Llywydd, I have participated in quite a large number of the 80 press conferences that the Welsh Government has participated in during the coronavirus crisis. About half of the participants have been local media, including Swansea Sound, and they have provided an essential service during the crisis, just in the way that Mike Hedges described.

First Minister, I think this is a very important question. Now, I understand that nine community news organisations have directly received a grant from Welsh Government, and you've mentioned the role of procurement in advertising and public information. I also think that local authorities could do a lot in this area. It is really a vital service, as you, indeed, said, and we have to be aware that some of the traditional news providers are now under considerable strain and we risk losing capacity and some very valuable and important local jobs if we don't, at this time of crisis, give fuller support to the local media sector.

I agree with what David Melding has said. We've been glad to have been able to re-purpose funding that remained in the community journalism fund. It's been over £76,000, and a range of outlets in Wales have benefited from that. The community radio fund is a UK fund, and we've supported stations in Wales in making successful applications to it. There is a public interest in making sure, of course, that there is a vibrant local media in Wales. It has to be done carefully, because it must be entirely free of any suggestion that there is interference in any editorial decisions that the reporting of news would rely upon, but I think we've managed to strike that balance and want to go on supporting both by the access we offer to those publications and broadcast outlets, and directly, where we are able to do that.

My question is on the Welsh-medium print sector. I've been asking your Government how much use is made, in sharing information about the crisis, of the Welsh-medium print media. I've asked for expenditure figures, but I am still awaiting those official figures, unfortunately. If you could provide those, I would be very grateful.

But, from my own research, the situation is very disappointing indeed. For example, only one advertisement, worth around £800, has appeared in our only Welsh-medium weekly since the beginning of the pandemic. First Minister, will you ensure that your Government makes full use of the print media in order to convey important messages to the people of Wales, and will you ensure that the Welsh-medium print media is included fully in your publicity campaigns from here on in?

Of course, Llywydd, those people who receive their news through the medium of the Welsh language are important to us, and the services available to them are also important. We do seek to support them, and we seek to support them in the print sector also. We are spending in order to assist the sector to continue with the important work that they do. I'm sure that people here will be working hard on the questions that Siân Gwenllian has tabled, along with a number of other questions that we're dealing with, and when those figures are available, we will make them available and share them. But generally speaking, of course we want to support the sector, and support it in an appropriate manner, and work with everything else that we're doing to promote the Welsh language.