3. Statement by the First Minister: Programme for Government — Update.

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:37 pm on 7 December 2021.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 3:37, 7 December 2021

Dirprwy Lywydd, I can honestly say that I didn't know Rhianon Passmore was behind me during the statement—otherwise, I would have made even more of the investment that Jeremy Miles announced in music services. I'm sure I'm very far from the only Member of the Senedd who was given an instrument in school to try out, to see whether I would go on—as I then did, to learn to play the clarinet. And if it hadn't been for the fact that there was an instrument there for me to try out, that would never have happened. It wasn't easy finding money for an instrument in the house that I grew up in, but my parents, having seen what I could do, were very committed to making sure that I went on enjoying that. And I was very, very fortunate to have been brought up in that great Welsh tradition of school orchestras, county orchestras, national youth orchestras. It was a formative part of my upbringing, and we want to make sure that young people in Wales go on being able to play a full part in exactly that. The national music service is a commitment for the five years of the term, because money alone, as I know Rhianon will know very well, is not the whole of the answer. There's an issue of the workforce, and the skilled workforce, and making sure that there are facilities for young people to be able to enjoy as well. But it's an important commitment there in the programme for government, and I'm very glad we've been able to give it some prominence this afternoon.