News – Sector support for Arts Council of Wales

More than 120 individuals and organisations have submitted written evidence to the Wales Arts Review as it draws together a report on the future framework for funding arrangements to support the arts. The Review was commissioned in response to the Welsh Assembly Governments (WAG) decision to strip the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) of some of its key funding responsibilities, and will guide WAG decisions on the future of the arts infrastructure in Wales.
Many submissions have been broadly supportive of the role played by ACW. Torch Theatre described ACW as probably operating more effectively at the moment than it has at any time over the past two decades and suggested that the most vital role for the Welsh Assembly was &providing financial stability to the sector. Like many, it supported the retention of an arms-length principle for funding decisions, and rejected proposals to provide a separate funding stream for the six national companies, and commented that to split the community up will give a two-tier system which we believe will be unhealthy for the sector. ACW expressed the view that it should continue to be actively involved in the funding of the national clients. But, if WAG were to take the decision to fund some of the companies directly, ACW proposes that it should be allowed to act as the client manager on behalf of Government, with responsibility for negotiating the terms of funding agreements, evaluation and quality control, in order to maintain a strategic vision. Welsh National Opera, which, under WAGs original proposals, was one of the six national companies whose funding would move under the direct control of WAG, stated that it would work within whatever structure emerges, changed or unchanged, but acknowledged that existing arrangements have worked very well. Similarly, Academi, the Welsh National Literature promotion Agency and Society of Writers, described its working relationships with ACW as having served literature well, but it was less happy about its lack of influence over the arts strategy for Wales and over how larger financial cakes may be cut.

The next stage in the Review process is an international gathering being held in Swansea next month, attended by speakers from various countries who will explain how their countries manage their funding. The arts community is being invited to attend the meeting to provide their views and feedback. The findings of the Review are due to be published in December.