We will now move on to the short debate. If those of you who are leaving the Chamber could do so quietly.

Those of you who are leaving the Chamber, if you can do so quietly and quickly. I'm about to call John Griffiths to introduce his short debate. I think we're quiet enough now, John, for you to carry on. John Griffiths. 

Diolch, Llywydd. Llywydd, in 1963, almost 60 years ago, Newport Rugby Football Club entertained the All Blacks at Rodney Parade. And against the odds, Bryn Meredith's side who, up to that point, had been in indifferent form, beat a New Zealand team regarded as one of the best of its generation. Still to this day the game is talked about, and I'm sure it will be on the minds of many when they attend the Newport Rugby Football Club hall of fame dinner later this month. That history I think is indicative that Newport has a very proud sporting history and, I am sure, a very bright and positive sporting future as well.

The Deputy Presiding Officer (David Rees) took the Chair.

The bedrock to sport in Newport, really, is the facilities and the grass-roots commitment the city enjoys. And the facilities at Newport Live are very important; they are some of the best in Wales. The swimming pool, the tennis centre, the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales and the international sports village activity as a whole, including the athletics track and the use thereof by Newport County Association Football Club in terms of the stadium.

The Geraint Thomas velodrome, Llywydd, obviously renamed after the Tour de France winner in 2018, one of our most famous Welsh sporting exports, will see the national track cycling championships from tomorrow. That velodrome is the only indoor venue of its kind across the whole of Wales, and it's where the team GB Olympians have previously trained. I'm very much looking forward to going along to spectate at the national track cycling championships this week, and hopefully meet some of the riders, as well as helping to make presentations. I think this event does highlight what a great sporting city Newport still is in the present day and how passionate the city is about sport, whether it's football, athletics, cricket, rugby, or a host of other sporting endeavours. And it's really good to have this opportunity this evening to highlight much good work that's taking place locally.

Perhaps I could start with rugby and football, Llywydd, and we have that proud history of Newport Rugby Football Club and, of course, the Dragons in terms of professional rugby. And they do a lot of very good work in the community, linking with grass-roots sporting community organisations, and taking a wide view of their remit, linking with Welsh Government campaigns, linking with Newport City Council, and a host of other voluntary organisations.

Newport County do similarly. They've done a lot of really good work with mental health, and men's mental health in particular, in recent times, being at the very forefront of professional football clubs and how they link with the health agenda around the challenge—the great challenge—of mental health that we all face at the current time. And they have a very active community arm that does much good work with schools and with grass-roots communities in Newport. County in the community is very, very important, and I'll return to that later.

Newport Cricket Club as well, Llywydd, is another headline in terms of what we have in the city, and they're based at the international sports village, another part of that great geographical location for sport in the city. Like the majority of groups and organisations, Newport Cricket Club has obviously been impacted by COVID-19 over the last two years, and because of changes at the sports village, the facilities they use for cricket sessions during the winter months were not permissible for a period of time, and that impacted on their ability to run junior and senior sessions, with players having to go elsewhere, to Cardiff and Ebbw Vale, to train. I've met with the Knight brothers, Mike and David, who are mainstays of Newport Cricket Club, to discuss these matters, and I really would like to put on record the amazing commitment that those brothers and all the volunteers around them have in terms of taking forward cricket on a voluntary basis, and making sure that it's available in Newport still for juniors, for women, for girls, for the men's senior teams, for ethnic minorities. It's a very wide-ranging offer that Newport Cricket Club have.

And key to taking forward their endeavours would be a new indoor training facility, new indoor nets. And I know that the Deputy Minister for sport is aware of their ambitions to take forward that project and that development, and it really would enable local talent to continue to flourish and that very inclusive agenda that Newport Cricket Club has to prosper. So, I hope very much we will see Welsh Government, Sport Wales, as well as Cricket Wales and Glamorgan, who played their Second XI games at Newport, all supporting this initiative, and, of course, Newport Live itself, recognising that Newport Cricket Club is one of the most diverse and inclusive clubs, not just in Wales, but across the whole of the UK. And the importance of that indoor facility would just be so—. It would allow so much more to develop, were it to go ahead. So, I hope, Deputy Minister, you will meet with representatives of the club, including the Knight brothers, to discuss their ambitions in more detail.

Parkrun Wales and the way that it operates in Newport is another indication of just how active and enthusiastic and energetic the local population is. And the two parkruns in Newport, one at the Riverfront and one at Tredegar House in my colleague Jayne Bryant's constituency, are really well supported, and they enable much to take place to encourage fitness and good health in Wales, for example, through the Couch to 5K programme and the links with local GP surgeries to make sure that people know that one way forward in terms of good health is to get on board with that preventative agenda and link with the parkruns and all that they enable in Newport, in our city.

Last October, I tabled a statement of opinion about the importance of this activity, and I was very pleased that it had support from Senedd Members right across the Senedd. I hope again, Deputy Minister, that Welsh Government, health boards and other organisations will continue to commit to work with Parkrun Cymru and local parkruns like those in Newport to proactively promote preventative health initiatives and just understand the importance of that and how we need to move increasingly on to that footing. I'm sure, Deputy Minister, you would be able to tell us about discussions you are having to do just that.

Of course, we mention some of the key players, some of the key organisations in terms of sport in Newport, but all of this relies on grass-roots sport and must link with grass-roots sport, and it's that host of clubs, with all the volunteers that make them possible, in football, in rugby, in cricket, in athletics, that really do show that passion for sport in Newport as a city. I know very well just how many of those organisations, just how many families, just how many young people, just how many women, ethnic minorities are involved in that endeavour and in making all of that possible.

Across Newport, County in the Community, that charitable and community arm of Newport County, deliver the Premier League Kicks sessions in some of the most deprived parts of the city. They use sport to tackle anti-social behaviour, increase female participation and provide inclusive opportunities for those who live with disability. In Ringland in Newport East, they have engaged with over 100 young people in free sessions and have been supported by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent, Jeff Cuthbert. Similar to Newport Cricket Club, in the winter months, they provide those opportunities, continuing throughout the year. But I know there have been problems—problems with lack of lighting and clean facilities.

And that project that County in the Community are taking forward in Ringland has highlighted to me that, even as regeneration of our communities is ongoing, it sometimes seems that sporting facilities are not at the forefront of that, when they really need to be. I know, Deputy Minister, that we have projects in Newport to build on our sporting history to link with the new health and well-being centre in the Ringland, Park, and Newport East, a facility that would include a GP surgery, dental services, family and therapy facilities, pharmacy, midwifery services, community nurses and adult social care. As part of that development, we should take the opportunity to improve sporting facilities in the area, making those crucial links with health. So, I wondered, Deputy Minister, if this is something, along with the Minister for health, the health board and the city council, together with other key stakeholders, that you could ensure is explored.

Just finally from me this evening, I'd like to highlight the Newport half marathon, which is taking place on Sunday, and again does much to put sport and physical activity at the forefront of what's happening locally and in the minds of local people. It's organised, of course, by St David's Hospice Care, which is an incredibly important organisation in Newport—does so much good work for local families around end-of-life care, and through the half marathon raises an awful lot of crucial money and also enables runners to raise money for a host of other crucial charities and obviously gets lots of people getting more active and fit in Newport and beyond.

Last year, the race wasn't able to take place in its usual format and was virtual because of COVID-19, but, this Sunday, so many runners, including myself, will take part, and I very much look forward to it. The event has grown and grown over the years—it's bigger and better year after year, and it will continue to build. Deputy Minister, I know it's now a little bit late in the day to sign up, but I'm sure the organisers would be really grateful to hear you give your support to this event on Sunday. I hope that just what I've been able to outline in what is always a limited period of time does give a flavour of some of what is going on in Newport and just how keen and passionate Newport is at the grass-roots and professional level to take a full part in sport in Wales and to make sure it develops ever more strongly as we move forward. Diolch yn fawr.

I'd like to thank my good friend John Griffiths for raising this today and for allowing me a minute of his time. Newport has a rich history of contributing to the sporting fabric of Wales. Our grass-roots clubs, such as the ones John has mentioned, have nurtured and supported so much talent. Even before beating the All Blacks in 1963, we had Arthur 'Monkey' Gould, who is considered to be the first superstar of Welsh and world rugby, who was in the Invincibles team in the nineteenth century, to the likes of Tony Pulis and Mike Flynn and their impact on football, Christian Malcolm who was a world-class sprinter and now a world-class coach, and Mica Moore and her achievements in the bobsleigh. Newportonians have always played their part. 

More recently, I've been really encouraged to see Newport sportsmen and women use their platform and their roots to change mindsets and inspire our communities—people like Ashton Hewitt and Leon Brown of the Dragons in Wales. Ashton is currently doing so much to try and tackle racism and discrimination in rugby and sport generally, and society, and both players are proud ambassadors of the Positive Futures programme, aiming at inspiring young people to engage in positive activities and to emulate their sporting achievements. Newport has a sporting pedigree it can be proud of. So much of that is down to the commitment and support of those at community level. Long may that continue. 

I call on the Deputy Minister for arts and sport to reply to the debate—Dawn Bowden.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Can I thank John for leading the debate this afternoon and for Jayne's contribution as well? I recognise John's passion for sport and leisure, and Jayne's, actually—she's a big rugby and football fan, I know—but certainly John has always been a strong champion for the various clubs and sporting facilities in his constituency, and I think he enunciated that quite eloquently this afternoon, or this evening.

I'd just like to start my response by stating that supporting our community sports clubs and events across Wales is a priority for this Government at both elite level and community level. Investing in our nation's sports facilities is also a personal commitment of mine, so that we can unlock more of our potential talent as a nation. Our investment at elite level, investing in world-class sports facilities to support our nation's sporting success on the global stage, is key to inspiring the next generation.

In Newport and the surrounding areas, I'd like to think that we can unearth this generation to emulate the likes of Olympian sprinters Christian Malcolm, who Jayne has already mentioned, and Jamie Baulch; Commonwealth gold medallist boxer Sean McGoldrick; Paralympian archer Pippa Britton, a world medallist and a key member of the Sport Wales board; Kyron Duke, a Para world silver medallist in javelin and shotput; footballer Chris Gunter, with more than 100 international caps for Wales; Paralympic gold-medal swimmer Liz Johnson; rugby players Taine Basham and Aaron Wainwright; or Cerys Hale, one of our groundbreaking women, who's recently received a Welsh international rugby contract. I could go on, but I think it's fair to say that Newport has produced its share of Welsh talent over the years, and I'm sure that that will continue. 

I must also add that Newport has been the training base for some outstanding athletes: Paralympians Jordan Howe, Rhys Jones and James Ledger, all trained by Christian Malcolm in the city; and many cyclists who have trained at the Geraint Thomas national velodrome, including Paralympic silver medallist James Ball. And at this point I'd like to personally wish those who've been selected to the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham the best of luck, and look forward to seeing them compete and, hopefully, bringing medals back with them.

But we must look to support and enable that next generation now, and our commitment is to invest in new and existing facilities that really improve the foundation of our community sports, and that's why, as recently as last month, I announced a further £4.5 million capital funding this year to support this commitment, bringing our total investment in 2021-22 to more than £13.2 million. Some of those investments have been made in Newport, such as providing new high-performance facilities at Parc Golf Club, enabling disabled access at Beechwood bowls club, contributing to enabling girls and women's boxing classes at St Michael's Boxing Club, and upgrading the training lights at Rogerstone rugby club, just to name a few.

And as John highlighted in his contribution, Newport Cricket Club are looking at the options for new facilities, and I know that they have been encouraged to speak to Cricket Wales and to Sport Wales to discuss this, and my officials will be more than happy to make those introductions if needed.

But, of course, we must not forget the world-class facilities that we already have in Newport, and John again has mentioned some of those, but we have the Celtic Manor, which hosted the 2010 Ryder Cup and, again, I mention the Geraint Thomas national velodrome, which, as John mentioned, this week is hosting the National Track Championships. Without these attractive and accessible facilities, we can't hope to grow participation across sports, particularly amongst under-represented groups, and this is the key to supporting our children's development and taking forward access to sport, such as investing in girls' and women's sport.

The funding we provide to Sport Wales and the national governing bodies of sport is only part of the picture, though. We've also invested in the Newport half marathon and the Newport marathon over the past few years, hosting large numbers of runners, including John, as he's already mentioned. I hear you're going to be running it again for the ninth year in a row, I think, John. So, that's quite an achievement. I don't know whether you're aiming for a Commonwealth qualifying time or something, but the best of luck to you, anyway, on Sunday. And these events, of course, bring in supporters and spectators, promoting the city as a magnificent sports venue, and contributing significantly to the local economy. This week, Newport is also hosting the Welsh snooker open, attracting some of the world's best players to the city, including Ukrainian teenager Iulian Boiko, who must be applauded for competing through this difficult personal time, and Hong Kong's Ng On-yee, the first woman to compete in the tournament.

Throughout the pandemic, over the past two years, the Welsh Government has also provided significant support to professional sport teams in Newport—the Dragons and Newport County—to protect them from the full impact of COVID restrictions through the spectator sport fund. We've supported them to offset the loss of income from supporters and enabled them to be competitive in their respective leagues. And it's, of course, good to see, as, again, John outlined, the action taken by organisations such as the Dragons and Newport County, and the work that they do to support their community.

So, looking to the future, Dirprwy Lywydd, we have already committed £24 million of capital funding to Sport Wales over the next three years and, from my perspective, that's only the starting point of our ambition, and we'll be looking to build on that initial investment, year on year, across the whole of Wales, and not just Newport, by the way. So, it's vital that we make facilities for our sport and physical activities accessible to everyone if we're going to unleash the benefits of sport for everyone in Wales, from the grass roots to elite sportspeople. Modern, accessible and sustainable facilities are crucial to encourage people back into sport or into sport. 

The education estate, through our schools and colleges, also provides an important platform for our sporting facilities. Our sustainable communities for learning programme, formerly the twenty-first century schools programme, has a significant role to play in providing sports facilities. Newport local authority has benefited from such investments, which have enabled them to progress projects that include sports and community facilities. We've provided investment in the newly established Ysgol Gyfun Gwent Is Coed, the special school at Ysgol Bryn Derw, and Bassaleg School, whose facilities are all available for the wider community use. At ysgol Is Coed, funding has helped provide a full-size, under-18s, floodlit 3G sports pitch, a large main hall with a separate canteen and dining space, whilst in Bassaleg School, investment has helped provide a full-size, floodlit 3G rugby pitch and a smaller, under-16s 3G football pitch.

And, of course, the health, social and economic value of sport is widely recognised, which is why Welsh Government continues to invest in sport through the preventative power of sport. John mentioned parkruns within that context, and I absolutely agree with him on that, because the preventative power of sport also includes social prescribing, where we would liaise closely with colleagues in public health and work in collaboration to provide opportunities for sports organisations and clubs to contribute and participate in any way possible to such an important programme for government commitment.

But to return to the main plank of the debate, the commitment to grass-roots sports is, without doubt, the basic building block for our wider success as a nation on the world stage. So, the Welsh Government will continue to invest in sports facilities across Wales in a sustainable and globally responsible way to ensure equal access and to support our talented athletes and coaches wherever they live and whatever their background. We have already had positive and constructive dialogue with some of our national partners about delivering those objectives together, and I look forward to further discussions in the near future. Diolch yn fawr. 

Thank you, all. That brings today's proceedings to a close. 

The meeting ended at 18:02.