5. What actions is the Welsh Government taking to safeguard arts and culture in Islwyn? OQ61525

Diolch, Rhianon Passmore. All Welsh Government funding for the arts is channelled through the Arts Council of Wales, under the arm’s-length funding principle. To date, in 2024-25, the Arts Council of Wales has allocated £148,568 of funding to individuals and organisations based in Islwyn.

Thank you. Diolch. Blackwood Miners' Institute is a very much loved and used community venue in Islwyn. Islwyn's proud mining and industrial heritage is represented by the Blackwood Miners' Institute, an arts success story, one of Wales's most vibrant small arts venues, according to many arts organisations, with a 33 per cent increase in box office this year. The heritage of such a facility also can be seen in similar institutions that have been saved for the nation—my office in the restored Newbridge Memo; at St Fagan's National Museum of History, the Oakdale Workmen's Institute—preserved for the nation to celebrate the importance of 'stutes', as they were known throughout south Wales. But this 'stute' is also the beating heart of arts access for all across not just Blackwood, but far beyond across the Valleys and communities of south Wales.

So, Cabinet Secretary, you can understand the concern in Islwyn when Caerphilly County Borough Council began consultation to mothball the Blackwood Miners' Institute at the end of December. We all know that 14 years of Tory austerity cuts to Wales have left our public services and communities at critical breaking point and our local authority finances are very stretched, thus endangering Wales's cultural assets. But there is a national and local consequence to losing arts venues of significant importance not just in the Valleys, but across Wales. What proactive measures, Cabinet Secretary, will the Welsh Government's cultural department consider taking to audit such significant cultural facilities and to instigate conversations with local authorities across Wales about those cultural assets and safeguard Wales's culture for future generations?

Well, thank you very much, Rhianon Passmore, for raising this beyond the particular concerns that you have got, which are expressed across this Chamber, about Blackwood Miners' Institute, to that more strategic question about the future of our arts and culture in Wales. Because we have to make sure that it is not only sustainable, but resilient for the benefit of future generations and current generations.

So, I would just draw Members' attention again to our draft priorities for culture. There was full consultation on the priorities. It closed on 4 September, and importantly, it included local authorities and they also responded to it. It has a very clear focus on access to culture, its role in placemaking, community well-being and care of historic assets—those are the key principles. So, I hope—and I know the local authorities have responded—that they will also see this in the context of their own cultural assets, like Blackwood Miners' Institute, and prioritise support accordingly.

Of course, we know, I have to say, that local authorities are under incredibly difficult budgetary pressure, and if the Cabinet Secretary for local government was here with me now, she would be nodding, I'm sure, and saying, 'They are under huge pressures and it is about priorities.' It's important that that consultation has taken place and that does help express what local priorities are.

Cabinet Secretary, it's clear today that Members across the region have raised the same issue and I'm really glad that we've all used our questions to highlight what's going on at the Blackwood Miners' Institute; it is an important institution in the Valleys. Each year, the Blackwood Miners' Institute, as has been said, hosts hundreds of events and classes, gigs, drama, opera, music—everything you can think of is hosted there—as well as, of course, the Manics back in the day, as was pointed out by my colleague.

So, what steps are you going to take as a Welsh Government to work with stakeholders, including the Labour county council, who want to close the institute to save money? This important community asset must be saved. There has been a petition and there are already over 6,000 signatures on it. Do you agree with me that this is not the place, as Alun Davies rightly pointed out earlier, this is not the place to make cuts? These provide a vital service and a lifeline for many.

Well, views have now been expressed across the Chamber in terms of the situation with Blackwood Miners' Institute. I think the only thing I would want to add, acting Presiding Officer, is that officers at the Arts Council of Wales are monitoring the situation and keeping the Welsh Government updated on developments.

As we've heard from colleagues, there is a real danger to arts and culture within Islwyn and it's been called 'cultural vandalism' by some, being proposed by the Labour local authority. The Labour cabinet have gone about this cost-cutting exercise in such a ham-fisted way, it beggars belief. The vastly experienced trade union representatives I've spoken with are incredulous as to how the exercise has been conducted. It's clear that the public disagree with the council's plans. I was privileged to take part in a march of many hundreds of people in Blackwood town centre a couple of weeks ago, and was able to address the campaigners afterwards. In the right hands, Blackwood Miners’ Institute and Llancaiach Fawr are not burdens; they are assets.

What guidance does the Welsh Government give to local authorities on how to conduct appropriate and thorough public consultations? And what guidance, expertise and support can you give to local authorities to ensure that these cultural institutions are not lost forever?  

Diolch yn fawr, Peredur. Again, additional points of view from across the Chamber on the record today in terms of concerns raised. I think that it is for the Arts Council of Wales, particularly, as our arm’s-length body, to engage with local authorities. I have already mentioned our priorities for the culture draft strategy, which focuses on the role that local authorities can play. I think that the only final point that I would make is that the Arts Council of Wales itself, which has invested significant funding in arts activity in Caerphilly, including Blackwood Miners’ Institute, has provided a detailed response to Caerphilly council’s consultation.