I now turn to spokespersons' questions. The first this afternoon is the Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Siân Gwenllian.

Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. The funding problems of the arts sector as a result of COVID continue, and I think that you agree with me that freelance workers are specifically under a great deal of pressure. You told the culture committee of the Senedd that the £7 million for freelance workers in the cultural sector wasn’t sufficient. And I’m sure you’ve seen the comprehensive report of the freelance taskforce for Wales, which brings forward a great deal of important recommendations. This report also includes many concerns with regard to the development of Welsh-medium work in this specific sector. So what plans or schemes do you have to ensure that freelance workers have the support that they need, and would you be willing to work with this taskforce, and with the Arts Council of Wales, and other organisations, to implement the recommendations of the report? What specific plans do you have as a Government to safeguard and grow the Welsh-medium sector during the pandemic?

Well, the Welsh-medium sector, in an officially bilingual nation, and a Senedd where we meet where both languages are official, is central to everything that we do as a Government, of course. So there’s no question that we’re not treating Welsh language provision at the same level as English language provision. And indeed, provision in other languages spoken by the citizens of Wales is also very important to us.

But the other point to emphasise here, I think, which is crucial, is that, in providing our plans as Government, we do ensure that the funding available from us—be that provided from our reallocated budgets, or whether it comes from the UK Government—that those funds are distributed as soon as possible in order to ensure that we meet the need. That’s what we have done, particularly with the £53 million, but with the reallocated internal budget—it’s more than that—that’s being provided for the arts.

What’s important is that applications come through quickly, and the arts council have responded very swiftly, I have to say, in administrating parts of the budget, and we as a Welsh Government will also administer our budget in accordance with that. It’s important that these individuals are given an assurance that there is opportunity for them to maintain their livelihoods, although they will have to discover ways of performing and operating in spaces that are different to what the situation was in the past whilst this public health crisis continues.

Thank you very much. I note that you haven’t answered my question with regard to the freelance taskforce and their recommendations in the report—

I have read their recommendations, but I’m not going to respond directly to any taskforce, because I think it’s a self-appointed taskforce, not a Government taskforce.

May I turn to another issue, namely journalism? I’d like to know what discussions you have had with regard to the future of English-medium print journalism in Wales. Have you been discussing with Reach, for example? I’d like to know how the Government can provide support—at arm’s length of course, but support despite that—to the English-medium print industry.

My first discussion, as it happened, wasn’t with Reach, but with the National Union of Journalists. I have had a discussion with them, and there will be further discussions. I will also be having further discussions with Reach. But what I hope to establish is a model that will be able to provide public funding to English language journalism that corresponds to what is available in literary and journalistic publications through the medium of Welsh. Because it’s always been clear to me, as one interested in both cultures and both languages, that there wasn’t equality of provision in this situation. So I do hope that we can take action through Creative Wales, because that is the new agency that we have within Government. Because of the current situation with this plague that we are suffering, we haven’t been able to make as swift a progress as we would have hoped, but there is a Creative Wales director in place now and he’s a very experienced public official and we will be acting through Creative Wales to establish a funding model. But it will be at arm’s length of Government, because that was what was important to me also. We need a model similar to the arts council model, where artistic decisions and journalistic decisions in this context are made not by politicians but by a quasi-independent body of Government.

Thank you very much. We look forward to seeing that work coming to fruition, because I’m sure you’ll agree that the newspaper industry and having a prosperous sector is vital to public life and democracy in Wales. So, I’m pleased to hear what you say today on that.

May I turn to one other area to conclude? Last Thursday, I believe it was, the Welsh Government announced a fund for support for sport worth £14 million, which is to be welcomed of course, but one of the problems that people in that area have mentioned to me is that some of this funding has to go to innovation plans and they see that as being very difficult because, truth be told, they need to fill the gaps that are arising as a result of a lack of income. So, why have you chosen to focus on innovation rather than focusing on assisting organisations to survive as a result of the lack of income that they’re facing at the moment?

We considered this issue carefully, and one of the things that’s been important to me over the years is that if people are to access public funds, that shouldn’t be available to them free of charge and that it’s just a matter of ticking the boxes, but that we also find new ways of working creatively in order to help to bring people through this crisis that we’re currently facing. That was at the heart of the decision that there should be creative requirements attached to how we make use of public funds. It’s not an attempt to refuse funding to individuals or institutions, but I didn’t want to pour money into old creative institutions that, perhaps, aren’t the kinds of institutions that new audiences will respond and react to. So, that was behind that. And, again, Creative Wales will be responsible for oversight and providing advice on this situation.

Conservative spokesperson, Laura Jones. 

Deputy Minister, I know that a lot of the Chamber follow on social media, as do I, Joe Wicks, who was a physical and mental health hero, I suppose, during the national lockdown period. He posted a video this morning on how he's being affected mentally by all the latest coronavirus regulations and things like that, which I thought was very brave, and he also said how the physical exercise helps him through that.

The last six months have taken their toll on people's physical and mental well-being, something that was addressed earlier in the First Minister's statement, and there's very much a lot of evidence to suggest that physical exercise can actually help mental health. Therefore, I'd like to just reiterate calls by our shadow Minister for health and sport, Andrew R.T. Davies, earlier for more support to be put into recreational sport across Wales.

PE with Joe, which was something that Joe Wicks did, was such a success for whole families, of all ages, and their mental and physical health during the lockdown period, as were the videos they tailored for the elderly, particularly those who were shielding. I'm not suggesting that you and the First Minister start doing exercise videos for the nation, Minister, but it is something that is very good, and maybe we should we look into, because it's a great way of getting into people's houses, helping them to exercise, encouraging them to exercise and maybe it's something that we should look at on a Wales-wide basis and be free for use. 

In areas where we have localised lockdowns, it made me think how are we reaching those people. Because of the obvious restrictions now on people, how are you ensuring that people are still able to take part in physical exercise, and how are you encouraging them to do so?

Well, I have an overall responsibility within Government for encouraging physical activity, which I still do myself. I'm not going to invite you to come and film me in Llandaff fields. I do, but it's a slow jogging process. But I think it's essential that we do, as a Government, repeat these messages, because one of the key things that I'm looking for, as we struggle through the pandemic, is how we develop good practice and better communication, so that the messages that we send out, the health messages that we produce, are ones that people find it easy to respond to. So, it's got to be a choice of which kind of physical activity. We spoke earlier about bowls; it depends what kind of physical activity people opt for—not just one thing or the other. We must make these activities as available as possible, in collaboration, obviously, with our major funders, which, through Welsh Government—it goes to the users of services.

Thank you, Minister. To enable people to partake in sport during the winter months is absolutely essential. It's always been essential, but now more than ever during this pandemic. Rural areas, often deemed affluent by the Welsh Government, are critically poor in a lot of areas when it comes to sporting facilities, especially those that can be used during the winter months to ensure that people and clubs can continue their sporting activities throughout the coldest and rainiest of months. What steps are you taking, Minister, to ensure that everybody across all areas of Wales has access to all-weather sporting facilities within their own communities, so they don't have to travel?

I will take note of that, because it's clearly something we need to ensure that we do provide and do respond to properly. I'm tempted to say we should ensure adequate supplies of thermals for all, but maybe that wouldn't be appropriate coming out of my budget; well, I haven't got much of a budget anyway. But to the extent that we could, I think that the obvious thing is to make people feel comfortable exercising in the interesting and diverse climate that we have in Wales. 

Thank you, Deputy Minister. Finally, the National Trust is facing considerable financial difficulty due to the coronavirus. They are reported to be facing losses of some £200 million as a result of the pandemic, and have had to review every aspect of their charity to make savings in almost every area of activity. One such attraction currently at risk is the roundhouse in the Kymin, which is a major tourist attraction in the area, attracting 65,000 visitors a year. The trust is currently consulting on closing the roundhouse, which would present a major blow to the local economy. Can you confirm that the full amount of funding provided by the UK Government to support arts and culture organisations in Wales is being used for the purpose intended, and what action can you take to ensure sites of historic importance, like the roundhouse, are kept open?

I have visited the Kymin. I think it was one of the early properties—I think it was 1902 that it was a gift to the National Trust. It's a very distinctive site. I have had discussions with the National Trust, and my senior officials, especially the head of Cadw, have had discussions with the National Trust. I think the way to respond to your question is to assure you that I want a stronger partnership between National Trust Cymru and Welsh Government and Cadw, because I think here is an opportunity now, as we reopen, or hopefully gradually reopen sites of this kind, for us to co-operate.

Obviously, we cannot fund the National Trust as if it were just another applicant, but if the National Trust has serious proposals, which would include a partnership with Welsh Government, I would be strongly in favour of that. I do live in the middle of National Trust property in the north; I should declare an interest. Though the actual cottage that we have is not a National Trust property; I don't think the National Trust would want it.

Thank you. Question 3, Russell George.

Sorry, Deputy Presiding Officer, I had an issue earlier on this afternoon.