Part of 5. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 2:49 pm on 8 July 2020.
Thank you very much. I agree with the content of your question, but I cannot respond constructively on the establishment of any sort of new taskforce, because I do think that we have the effective bodies in place already in Wales, through the Arts Council of Wales, but also through local government. And I have already had discussions—this morning, as it happens—with local authorities on the possibility of using more local councils to support the arts within communities. And therefore, whilst I welcome the expenditure of £59 million that will be available to Wales, I won't be the one to make the decision on that expenditure, because according to the funding regime in place in Wales—as is the case with Scotland and Northern Ireland—the funding is distributed on the basis of devolved expenditure in Wales and corresponding expenditure in England. But it doesn't follow that that expenditure will be spent in its entirety on what happens in England. And if we were to start to go down that route, then what would be the purpose of having a Government in Wales, having a Welsh budget, and providing freedom for Welsh Ministers to decide what is best? And therefore I don't intend to commit to following what's happening in England.