A SENEDD committee has urged the Welsh government to reverse cut to museum funding so that the Big Pit National Coal Museum’s underground tours can be free of charge again.

A report by the culture committee said today that access to Wales’s coalmining history should not be through a paywall.

The museum in Blaenavon, Torfaen, cited funding cuts and financial pressures when it announced in April that it would introduce the £8 per person charge on a trial basis until July 2026.

Committee chairwoman Delyth Jewell said that “no-one should have to pay to enjoy collections that belong to the people of Wales.

“As the custodians of our nation’s history, the Welsh government has a responsibility to fund our national institutions adequately so that they can afford to provide free entry to everyone.”

The Welsh government said it was committed to keeping entry to all seven of Amgueddfa Cymru’s sites free and would consider the report’s findings.