What Next? Cymru

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy – in the Senedd at 1:32 pm on 9 June 2021.

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Photo of Dawn Bowden Dawn Bowden Labour 1:32, 9 June 2021

Thank you, again, for that supplementary question. What I would say in terms of the position of the Minister with responsibility for culture, I think it's more important that the Minister delivers on what is being asked rather than the position in the hierarchy of Government. And I'm very clear about my role in that and my role with the Minister for Economy in making sure that the cultural sector plays a key part in economic recovery. And as part of developing the cultural strategy, the Welsh Government is going to be engaging with a whole range of stakeholders, including What Next? Cymru. We've got a meeting with them scheduled shortly. In fact, I met with a representative from What Next? Cymru in my constituency just prior to the election, and she went through the cultural manifesto with me. You and I have got a meeting scheduled at the end of the month, and I'm also meeting with the Conservative spokesperson on culture and sport, and I hope that everybody will be contributing to the work that we'll be doing around that area.

And I think that it's important to set out that, throughout the pandemic, the cultural sector has worked hard to produce opportunities for people to engage with culture and heritage, particularly through digital services, and I want to ensure that that continues and that we have a sustainable development for the sector. We will continue to invest in projects to deliver new and improved cultural organisations, increasing access to our collections and cultural assets from across Wales, including digitising the National Museum Wales collections of contemporary art and the creation of a new football museum and developing Theatr Clwyd. We're also looking to create a memorandum of understanding with the Arts Council of Wales, to ensure alignment between the creative sectors and the arts sector. Through the freelancer and public sector pledges, we're working with the sector to ensure a more co-ordinated approach, moving forward. Events are also a vital part of the visitor economy, and we fully recognise the importance of those to the sector.

So, to answer your question directly, a key part of my work is to work with the economy Minister in making sure that the cultural sector is adequately funded and is part of the key elements of the economic recovery in Wales, and they will play a key part in that.