A Labour MS has criticised the Welsh Government’s response to an inquiry on the impact of cuts to culture and sport over the past decade.

Alun Davies called for a clear recognition of the crisis occurring in the culture sector as a consequence of decisions taken by ministers in Cardiff Bay.

Contributing to a debate on a culture committee report, entitled A decade of cuts, he said: “The tone has certainly changed in recent months but the 'crisis, what crisis?' approach … runs through the whole of the government's response.”

Mr Davies, a former minister, went as far as to urge the Welsh Government to withdraw and rethink its formal response to the committee’s report.

Addressing his Labour colleague Jack Sargeant, who was appointed culture minister in July, he said: “The approach you took at committee wasn't acceptable and the approach taken in the response from the government to this report isn't acceptable either.”

Mr Davies added: “It's the easiest thing in the world to blame the Tories – we've all done it and I've fallen into that trap as well … but there is an accountability and a responsibility here. It is the Welsh Government that has taken these decisions … that has delivered these cuts.”

The Blaenau Gwent Senedd member has been on the backbenches since being sacked by then-incoming first minister Mark Drakeford in 2018.

He said: “For a Labour government to take decisions that exclude the poorest people, the most vulnerable parts of our society and the poorest communities from joining in the expression of our culture as a nation is a fundamental error of judgement and … decision.”

Delyth Jewell, who chairs the culture committee, was disappointed that only three of the 13 recommendations were accepted in full, with seven accepted in principle and three rejected.

Ms Jewell warned: “It is concerning, indeed, to see the government increasingly … adhering to this method of accepting committee recommendations 'in principle', only to explain in the narrative underneath that they don't really accept the recommendation at all.”

Warning culture and sport have been treated as “nice to haves”, the Plaid Cymru group’s deputy leader said the sectors have faced prolonged and harsh real-terms cuts.

“As a result, public funding of culture and sport is lower in Wales per head than most European nations,” she told the debating chamber or Siambr.

Ms Jewell said a lack of investment could lead to young people being deprived of the chance to represent Wales on the world stage, with culture and sport becoming ever-more elitist.

She also questioned whether the Welsh Government has always fully appreciated the extent of the pressures the culture and sports sectors face.

Gareth Davies, the Conservatives’ shadow culture minister, called for a focus on ensuring money allocated on the arts is spent wisely.

He said: “We should recognise that every pound lavished on theatre or a football pitch is a pound wrested from a hospital bed, a classroom or a pensioner’s purse.”

Mr Davies criticised the sector for “frittering” tens of thousands on “nonsense”, with £30,000 once “splashed” on a sculpture of recycled tyres in Swansea.

“This is not culture, this waste erodes trust in funding when trust is most fragile,” he said.

Heledd Fychan agreed with the Welsh Sports Association that a trend towards cuts must be reversed for Wales to maintain its proud sporting history and compete on a global stage.

Plaid Cymru’s shadow culture minister said: “We cannot continue to let our culture, the very essence of what makes Cymru Cymru, languish – there needs to be a step change.”

Responding to the March 26 debate, Mr Sargeant said: “I agree with Alun Davies about the importance of this report and I assure members that we do take seriously the role of the committee, the report and the sector itself.”

He pointed out that the Tories and Plaid Cymru voted against the Welsh Government’s final 2025/26 budget, which includes an extra £9m in revenue and £18m in capital funding.

The culture minister acknowledged that the Welsh Government had to take difficult choices to protect vital public services in 2024/25.

Stressing he is under no illusions about the challenges, Mr Sargeant said: “The final budget is a significant step forward. It provides a real opportunity to move towards more secure and more sustainable funding.”

In closing, he told the Senedd: “Years of austerity damaged our cultural as well as our social fabric but as we build the foundations of recovery, we must remember the benefits of delivering growth should be done inclusively.”