I'd like to focus my contribution to this debate on the need to devolve broadcasting. This is an area that is devolved in other devolved nations, such as the Basque Country and Catalunya, and the powers have been used for the benefit of their languages.

The cross-party committee of the Silk commission, set up by the British Government itself, together with an opinion poll conducted by YouGov in 2017, found that over 60 per cent of people in Wales were in favour of devolving broadcasting to Wales. Therefore, public support for this is unambiguous. However, the British Government has refused to implement the commission's recommendation to devolve to the Welsh Government the few million pounds collected from taxpayers to fund S4C. Is there any other country in the world where power over its main channel and public broadcaster is held by another country? The communications committee of the fifth Senedd said that it was an anomaly that the powers over S4C rested in London rather than in the country where the language heard through the channel's content is spoken. That has to change. 

An increasing number of other bodies and organisations have also called on the British Government to go further, and they see the merits of the argument for the devolution of broadcasting in its entirety. The devolution of broadcasting would help people living here in Wales to better understand what's happening in their own country rather than receiving misinformation from the London media that fails to comprehend devolution. It's important, not only for the sake of our democracy ,but also, as the pandemic has shown, for the sake of our public health, that the people of Wales receive information that's relevant to their lives here in Wales. The devolution of broadcasting would also provide us with an opportunity to develop a diverse Welsh media that reflects the needs and interests of contemporary Wales. Local Welsh newspapers are dwindling, as are newspapers everywhere, and although BBC Radio 2 is the most listened to radio station here in Wales, Wales is very seldom mentioned.

The founding of S4C was a huge boost back in 1982—a tremendous boost to our nation, our identity and our culture—but much more is needed. We want to build on the success of S4C's existence in a very fragile political climate, where the survival of our own nation is under threat. Wales exists for everyone, whether they speak Welsh or not. S4C is wonderful, and as the mother of a small boy, Cyw has been a blessing, but we need more than just S4C to promote the self-esteem of our 3 million people and to promote the development of our nation as a whole. It's time for Wales to have a voice and for us as a people to have national conversations on improving how the country is governed. The devolution of broadcasting will be fundamental to that.

Responsibility for broadcasting and communication should be devolved in its entirety to this Senedd. This will give us the power to regulate the entire broadcasting spectrum here in Wales, including responsibility for the licence fee. We could also then establish a statutory financial formula for our Welsh language channels and platforms that would rise in line with inflation, offering long-term financial security to broadcasters and broadcasting here in Wales. Plaid Cymru has long argued that it is in the hands of this Senedd that powers over broadcasting in Wales should rest and not in the hands of Westminster, which knows next to nothing and cares even less about our communities. And now, for the first time in the history of Welsh politics, we have a cross-party consensus in favour of the devolution of broadcasting.

At the end of the last Senedd, the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee, which included Members not only from Plaid Cymru, but also from Labour and the Conservative Party, published a report on this issue. And their conclusion: that broadcasting should be devolved, with some agreeing that it should be devolved in its entirety, and others in favour of partial devolution. The devolution of broadcasting is key to our democracy. We have a cross-party consensus. Now is the time to act.