News

Wrexham Council will discuss establishing a charitable company to support a 2029 City of Culture bid following feedback on its 2025 bid.

The city lost out to Bradford for the 2025 title which had established a trust to lead the bid process throughout.

A report by Wrexham Council said the move would mean a “robust governance structure” would be in place for delivery which could support continued cultural and creative work in Wrexham after 2029.

The report added that, once legally established, the charitable trust would have a  “close working relationship” with the local authority. It would also lead a public engagement exercise to update the community on the progress of the trust and the bid.

A theatrical ensemble for young people with experience with the care system has launched in Scotland.

WAC Pro aims to support professional development within the arts and provide young artists with creative skills. Participants will create 10 new pieces, consisting of five theatre productions and five films, with the support of industry professionals. 

Funded by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland, WAC Pro will offer its members a series of masterclasses, one-to-one guidance, a daily freelance rate and a budget for their productions. 

The project is a collaboration with Citizens Theatre, GMAC Film, Arts in the City and WAC Ensemble, a theatre group for people with experience of being in care. 

WAC Ensemble was formed in 2019, initially for 18-to 26-year-olds, but has evolved to support members who have aged out of the original parameters of the project.

Deni Smith, Arts and Culture Development Worker at Arts in the City, said: “All of us have creativity within us; however, there are often barriers that we face when exploring that part of ourselves – particularly if we are embarking on a career in the creative industries; and, for individuals with care experience, they can be faced additional challenges. 

“WAC Pro has been designed to alleviate some of these barriers through the package of support provided. For the Ensemble members, who each have lived experience of care, the project provides a paid opportunity to dedicate time to their creative ideas.” 

The Independent Society of Musicians (ISM) has labelled secondary music teacher recruitment as “not good enough” after the Department for Education revealed that it only reached 27% of its target.

The target for trainee music teachers has only been reached once in the last 10 years (in 2020/21). Before this year, the previous low was 64% in 2022/23, when 301 teachers were recruited against a target of 470.

For 2023/24, the government set a higher target of 790, which it missed by more than two-thirds. Overall, the government missed its target for all secondary teacher recruitment by 50 per cent this year.

The government published its National Plan for Music Education in 2021, outlining its vision for music education in England until 2030 and announcing that £25m would be available to schools to purchase instruments and equipment.

Last month, DfE announced that trainee music teachers at secondary level will be entitled to a bursary of £10,000 from September 2024 after previously axing the support in 2020.

ISM Chief Executive Deborah Annetts said: “Meeting just 27% of the secondary music trainee teacher recruitment target is dire and simply not good enough from the government.

“A career as a music teacher can be hugely rewarding, and our teachers make an enormous difference to the lives of their students.

“The government must urgently look at the decline of music in schools due to accountability measures, the EBacc and Progress 8, as well as the pay of teachers as current policies have led to this situation where would-be teachers are put off. 

“The government set out ambitious plans for music in the refreshed National Plans for Music Education; however, without the workforce to deliver it, those plans will never be realised, and the teaching of music may disappear in schools. All this will damage the education our students receive, our music sector and the precious talent pipeline.”
 

Bolton Octagon has raised £80,000 after comedian Peter Kay performed three fundraising shows at the venue on Sunday (10 December).

Kay, who hails from Bolton, was a member of the Octagon's youth theatre and worked in the box office for around four months in the 1990s - before being "let go".

Kay thanked the audiences of the 390-seat venue for “coming and supporting a very worthy cause."

Octagon Chief Executive Roddy Gauld told the BBC the event would give the venue "a big boost" and help to keep ticket prices down.

"Running a theatre like this is tough right now," he said.

"Costs have risen, as they have for every business and every household. And as people have less money to spend, that trip to the theatre might be something that they decide to cut down on at the moment.

"So having a big draw like Peter Kay makes a massive difference."

An appeal to save a Coventry arts venue at risk of closure has received the support of big-name artists who have donated their work to the cause.

The founders of Commonground, an accessible venue that hosts live music and exhibitions, say they need to raise £12,000 to keep the doors open until the new year. The building's current running costs are met by their savings, personal loans and refreshment sales.

Prints of works by artists, including 2011 Turner Prize nominee George Shaw and photographer Richard Sadler are being offered as rewards to those who donate to the appeal. 

"Our community has come to our rescue and offered artworks for us to use as incentives to donate," said Kate Rossin and John Randle.

The pair say they have a financial plan for 2024, with "new funding options" and a programme of events. 

The Musicians' Union has written to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan calling for urgent financial support for music education hubs.

An open letter from the union highlights the potential impact of increased employer pension contributions on the finances of hubs, stating that it could lead to "extreme financial difficulties" for the organisations that run hubs. 

It says that, in turn, this could result in a drastic reduction of what hubs will be able to deliver.

Chris Walters, MU National Organiser for Education, said: “In its National Plan for Music Education, the government has asked the music education sector to deliver more than ever, and yet it has offered no increase in funding for well over a decade. 

"On top of this, it is expecting the sector to self-fund a significant increase in mandatory pension contributions.

“We are simply asking that funding for music education be unfrozen and linked to inflation and that the government funds employers’ pensions contributions for teachers who are employed to deliver the vital work of music education hubs.”

A 450-seat theatre in a village in Hampshire has been told it must cease performances after it emerged it does not have planning consent from the local council.

The absence of planning permission for Titchfield Festival Theatre’s (TFT) Arden stage, which is currently hosting a pantomime, only emerged after concerns were raised about insufficient parking.

Producing over 30 community productions a year, TFT comprises multiple stages and has occupied its current site for 13 years. The registered charity receives no public subsidy and had a total income of £3,184,873 in the year ending June 2022, with an expenditure of £2,986,074.

Fareham Borough Council said the venue has only been granted permission for use as storage and that the company must stop using it as a theatre by 29 February. Titchfield Festival Theatre Limited can appeal to the Secretary of State by 29 December.

In a statement, TFT Artistic Director Kevin Fraser said: "TFT is proud that it has turned around a disused factory site that it has occupied as a theatre for over 10 years, and has spent £1.7m of their own money making it into the largest community theatre hub in Europe.

"TFT's lawyers have already contested this action by Fareham Borough Council and requested the authority to withdraw it."
 

Senior civil servants have defended their handling of an employment dispute that resulted in a payout of over £325k to the former Director General of Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales - and legal costs of £420k.

On 30 November, the Senedd’s Public Accounts Committee heard from Andrew Slade, the Welsh Government’s Director General for  Economy, Skills and Natural Resources, who described the costs as reasonable, representing the “least-worst outcome” for taxpayers.

Asked whether the payment and fees provided value for money, Slade said that an employment tribunal would have taken about two years to resolve the issue, with the outcome potentially subject to appeal.

Labour MS Rhianon Passmore noted that a tribunal could have incurred significantly higher costs of £1.2m to £1.8m. 

The payout followed a longstanding employment dispute between the museum’s former Director General, David Anderson, and former President Roger Lewis, in which Anderson brought grievances against Lewis for bullying and discriminatory treatment. 

Under the terms of the settlement, Amgueddfa Cymru agreed to make Anderson, who stepped down in November last year,  payments of more than £325k.

A further settlement of £12k went to the former Chief Operating Officer, who also bought a grievance against Lewis, with total legal fees estimated at £420k.

During the committee hearing, Passmore asked why mediation did not occur for eight months after concerns were first flagged in the spring of 2021 following Lewis’s annual review. Slade responded that the government did not have a process in place to deal with a breakdown of relations between senior museum leaders.

In October, an auditor responsible for overseeing public spending in Wales raised concerns that the settlement may not have complied with the requirements of charity law.

Amgueddfa Cymru said in a statement that while it respects the Auditor General’s opinion, “some of the evidence provided has not been reflected in the report” and that “as a result, we do not feel it a fair representation of the events that occurred or fully considers the complicated circumstances which [we] had to resolve.