In Wales it is right that from September our new national plan for Wales prescribes that a lack of money does not prevent in particular our young people from learning music, further that music is not anymore the birthright for those who can afford to pay to play. This, I think, is our shared Welsh vision, and I place on record my gratitude for the furthering and safeguarding of our great cultural legacy. Wales has long been recognised around the world as the land of song, and this became the title of my first ever commissioned report to this place by the eminent Professor Paul Carr, and its contributors were global artists and professionals of Wales. Because we have so much to be proud of, our champion choirs and brass bands, our internationally recognised composers, our pop and rock bands, and our renowned recording artists and conductors on digital global platforms, it is true simply to say that Wales punches above its weight when it comes to music.

But this visible aural success has also been our greatest downfall. Masking the chaos of austerity impacts on our factories of music making, to paraphrase the very great Max Boyce. For much of the COVID pandemic, the music was silent. Our music of Wales in all its many coats of vibrant, colourful diversity was silenced. Venues closed, concerts cancelled. From the biggest stadia to our smallest community music groups, there was silence. Rehearsals silenced, for the greater good. A cultural grieving took hold, and people suffered, because music matters. It calms, it eases pain, it relaxes, it heals. Our Welsh hills and green valleys, like the greening of the coal tips now, are starting to breathe once again, alive with the sound of music once more.

Deputy Llywydd, to make needed change is why we are all here. However, as politicians, we must be honest and take a long, hard look in the mirror. Our various culture and Welsh language committee reports evidenced, as I'm sure Delyth Jewell will highlight, first-hand the unsustainable future. Witnesses like the great conductor Owain Arwel Hughes voiced that the engines of our global success were closing down the very lifeblood, draining from infrastructure—unsustainable. Our music support services withering due to austerity and COVID a loss not only to our youth, a loss to our national legacy and a loss to our global reputation as the land of song.

So, today, Minister, what is different? I believe, truly believe, that we are at the cusp of a new opportunity, unlimited, that we are steering in now new territory and that a new cultural renaissance in Wales can happen, that we can and will strengthen our musical and cultural scene and also our economy, most importantly through our funded access to music education, a priority for our future generations. There is a new vision for Wales. The strengthening of our music education is important to rebuild and support the well-being of our young people after coronavirus. And in this week where thousands flock to Cardiff to see a massive concert headlined by the great Sir Tom and the Stereophonics, we need to ask how do we nurture the next Shirley, Manics, Bryn Terfel, Catrin Finch, Claire Jones. Hugely important to this is our newly announced national plan for music, our national plan for music education and our National Music Service, and I'm hugely proud that a cornerstone of these plans will be universality, that every young person in Wales will have the opportunity to access music education and to learn an instrument. That company such as those in Merthyr that are producing socially procured plastic trumpets will be benefiting. 

I have said many times in this Chamber that music education should be based on the ability to play and not the ability to pay. Key to this is that these new ambitious proposals are properly financed. So, I welcome greatly the £13.5 million of funding to local authorities and their music services, which is so necessary and a very healthy start to the upskilling of all of our Welsh pupils, with proper access routes to elite pathways. This policy matters because it is about what we stand for as a country, who we are, and what we invest in in our future to cascade to the world. So, I'd like to thank the Minister wholeheartedly for his commitment to delivering on the National Music Service, which I believe has sincere support and consensus across this Chamber. And I want to briefly, if I may, pay tribute to all of those who have joined me in campaigning on this issue over a number of years to ensure that it has remained on the political agenda. I have already mentioned Owain Arwel Hughes and his passionate advocacy, Craig Roberts and his amazing network of musicians, and Vanessa David. I will also mention my sister, Eluned, and many, many more.

And, of course, music does not exist within a vacuum. Creating a strong music sector relies on there being a vibrant cultural sector. Television, film, theatre and festivals provide an opportunity to showcase Welsh musical talent. During the last Senedd term, we saw the launch of Creative Wales to co-ordinate the growth of creative industries across Wales, and, despite the baptism of fire, the organisation has grown into the role, supporting the creative sector through unprecedented challenges, yet there is more opportunity, Dirprwy Lywydd, and room for co-operation and support across our different sectors. The arts are often intrinsically linked and economically of great significance to Wales, and I hope that Creative Wales and the Welsh Government will champion and work together in consensus to grow this co-operation.

Lastly, this position is fragile, and in order to maintain it we must cherish our talent. And while there is much to celebrate in the progressive work Welsh Government has undertaken, we must ensure that the outcomes are properly measured so that policies deliver what they are meant to do, that precious public funding is utilised—every penny in the arts, every pound. To conclude, I believe we should celebrate, though, the huge strides forward and avoid blowing our own trumpet. We must ensure that the National Music Service lives up to its founding principles: that we truly create music education that's accessible to everyone and that we are giving our youngsters the very best opportunities just to be well or to be musical stars. Finally, I believe we will see that new cultural renaissance if we all in this Chamber work together to achieve it, and that the dragon and the phoenix will rise again. Diolch.