Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:40 pm on 3 February 2021.
Diolch yn fawr, Deputy Presiding Officer. I too would like to thank the staff of the committee and all the witnesses who gave us evidence. It was quite a substantial piece of work, and it's produced, I think, an important and substantial report.
I'd like to refer to recommendation 6 as well, and the need for a music strategy, which as the recommendation states, would be very beneficial outside Wales, as well as within. I think we're all familiar, aren't we, with Cool Cymru when it came about, and we had a lot of top-quality, high-profile rock bands coming to prominence around the same time. And I think that gave Wales a great international image, and we shouldn't underestimate the importance of that. It's about soft power, isn't it, which the British Council and UK Government work hard to establish and develop. It's very, very important for any nation, and I think it was a great image for us.
I know, locally in Newport, we had a thriving live music scene, and many people speak of the legendary TJ's with great and fond memories. And then we had Le Pub, which is a great venue as well, and indeed the proprietor gave evidence to the committee. And that's been very important for Newport in changing the image of the city, and also in allowing good quality of life for all people locally who want to enjoy live music. So, we really shouldn't underestimate the importance of music locally, nationally or internationally, and I think a music strategy could reflect on what might be done and take it forward effectively.
I'd very much like to agree with what Mick Antoniw said, and reflect on recommendation 13 with regard to schools. I think, my own experience, as Mick said, is that it is very unequal at the moment. Gwent Music provide a great service, but much of the provision relies on parents paying for it, and obviously that excludes an awful lot of families. So, we really need to tackle that. Everybody has talents, and it's awful to think that some children will develop their talents and others will miss out because of the circumstances into which they were born, and we really need to do something about that. It's a great waste of human potential, and music is one aspect of that, and I hope that this report can be a catalyst to doing more than we are currently doing to wrestle with those issues.
And just one other matter. Charities can be really important in terms of providing opportunities to those who wouldn't otherwise have them to learn to play a musical instrument and have experience. In Newport, we had an empty town centre shop taken over by a music charity, and people of any age could walk in off the streets and try out a musical instrument and have tuition, come back time and time again, develop their interest and their talents, and there was a very strong social side to it as well. At a time when we're looking for alternative uses for our town centre and city centre buildings—and that will probably accelerate because of the pandemic and online shopping and so on—what a great use for a building, an empty building, in our town and city centres to provide opportunities to try out musical instruments, and to develop and foster talent.