Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the motion on behalf of the committee.

It is my pleasure to open the debate today about the report by the Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport and International Relations Committee on the impact of increasing costs on culture and sport. I would like to thank everyone who took part in this inquiry and who shared their experiences with us as a committee. This includes the significant number of written responses that we received. That demonstrates how concerned many stakeholders are about the impact of the cost of living on their work. I would also, of course, like to thank the members of the committee and our support staff for their work.

Culture and sport are especially vulnerable to the problems caused by higher living costs. Participation in activities has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. This is harming income in these sectors, meaning that many people—often the most disadvantaged—are missing out on the physical, mental and social benefits associated with taking part. And as we heard, sport and culture are not luxury items; instead, they are the things that give purpose to people's lives, things that bring happiness. The loss is not just a financial one.

But the financial landscape for these sectors is a cause for concern. Venues in these sectors are often energy intensive and operate on the basis of very narrow profit margins. Swimming pools, for instance, are expensive to heat, and face rising costs in other areas, such as the cost of cleaning chemicals. Higher costs and lower income mean that venues like this are at risk of permanent closure. And once they have closed, they are unlikely to reopen.

And the problems are serious with culture too. The arts council said in September that

'the crisis facing the sector is as great as at any time over the last two years.'

These sectors were under threat of permanent and widespread closure of venues during the pandemic. Rapid action and funding from the Welsh Government during the COVID period of over £140 million prevented that from happening. Our point as a committee is that this money will have been wasted if these venues were to be closed now.

We have called for additional targeted funding to offer a lifeline to venues that may close permanently in the coming months, but would probably otherwise have a long and sustainable future ahead of them. The Welsh Government says it that has accepted our key recommendation for additional funding for these sectors; that's to be welcomed, but the amount that is being provided unfortunately is a fraction of what the sector has called for.

The Deputy Minister has referred to £3.75 million in additional funding for culture and sport during the 2022-23 financial year. Of course, additional funding is to be welcomed, but this can be compared to the £5 million to £10 million for the arts alone that the arts council has called for. It would be good to know how much of the £3.75 million that the Deputy Minister referred to was for pay awards in these sectors.

The Welsh Government told us during the inquiry that

'growth in energy costs, coupled with rising inflation, pose risks to individuals, households, businesses, organisations and sectors not seen since the Second World War.'

But our view as a committee is that the nature of its response does not match this description. The Welsh Government was deservedly praised by the cultural sector for the speed of its response to COVID-19. Thus far, however, its response to the impact of increasing costs on culture and sport has failed to match the severity of the crisis. The pandemic was a universal problem that required sector-specific responses. The same is true of the cost-of-living crisis, and unfortunately, the situation has deteriorated since our report was published.

Reductions in the support available for energy bills from the UK Government in January 2023 have exacerbated concerns about business closures across the culture and sports sectors. UK Active said that the Government's new energy bill reduction scheme fails to give thousands of swimming pools, leisure centres and gyms the support that they need to avoid further restrictions on services, centre closures and job losses. Music Venue Trust said that venues, along with the entire hospitality sector, have been placed in a general category of support that is so inadequate that it will inevitably lead to the permanent closure of venues.

We have started to see troubling signs that we could see venues closing permanently and on a large scale very soon. In Cardiff, this relates to the future of St David's Hall and the Museum of Cardiff; and Powys County Council has only just avoided closing swimming pools temporarily in response to the energy crisis. One of the most popular petitions in Wales at the moment is calling for direct funding to support swimming pools and leisure centres during the energy crisis. Of course, in November, UK Active warned that 40 per cent of council areas were at risk of losing their leisure centres and swimming pools within five months, or seeing their services being reorganised or closed.

So, unfortunately, the landscape is not a pleasant one; it is not an easy one to discuss, but we need to discuss it. I look forward, therefore, to hearing the comments of other Members, and of course, the Deputy Minister. And I hope that we can offer some hope in these very dark times.