News – Pugh backs down on ACW

Welsh Culture Minister, Alun Pugh, has accepted the findings of the Wales Art Review and acknowledged that responsibility for the public funding of Wales main arts organisations will remain in the hands of the Arts Council of Wales (ACW). The Review, commissioned in response to Pughs attempts to take control of funding for six national companies earlier this year, reported last month and recommended the establishment of a Strategy Board to lead arts policy. This Board would be made up of representatives of the Welsh Assembly Government, ACW and local government, and would be chaired by the Minister.
Addressing the Welsh Assembly, Pugh said, The Assembly Government wants to create a more transparent and accountable framework for developing the arts in Wales. The Arts Council is important, but it is not the only player. Local authorities have a prominent role, as do the private sector and Arts & Business Wales. He referred to the debate about direct funding as a hotly controversial issue but would not be drawn as to whether he planned to implement all of the Reviews recommendations. During the debate, an amendment was passed that welcomed the re-affirmation of the arms-length principle for the strategic management of the arts in Wales.

Pugh said that, while he understood the Reviews call for extra funding for culture, that this was an area that needed further work. He also said he was prepared to consider enshrining the concept of artistic freedom in Welsh law. Plaid Cymrus Shadow Culture Minister, Owen John Thomas, said of the Review, The recommendation to retain the main six arts companies outside Government is particularly welcome. We need to promote both democratic accountability and artistic freedom. Pughs seat in the Welsh Assembly is widely thought to be under threat at the Assembly elections next May. At the last elections in 2003, he won it with a 436-vote majority.