Culture, Welsh Language and Sport will see a headline budget increase from £124.6m this year to £150.9m in 2007/08, according to the Welsh Assembly Government?s draft financial plans, published last month. Final decisions about the breakdown of departmental spending are still being negotiated though, and it is widely anticipated that Sport and the Welsh Language will see the largest increases.
Spending priorities will focus on areas that will increase the impact of sport and culture on health and well-being, but cash will also be earmarked for attracting major sporting and cultural events to Wales, including £3.5m for the run-up to the Ryder Cup in 2010. An extra £3m in capital grant is going to the National Museums and Galleries of Wales (NMGW), news which was welcomed by NMGW Director General Michael Houliha: ?This enables us to ensure that we are able to prioritise essential maintenance work whilst still concentrating on the work of developing the whole visitor experience at all our sites.?
Culture, Welsh Language and Sport Minister Alun Pugh said: ?This new funding will help us achieve a more active, healthier nation, and continue our investment in culture and the Welsh language.? However, the overall budget plans for Wales were greeted with disdain by opposition parties, which argued that money was being spent in the wrong way. The Welsh Conservatives branded it a ?spend more, deliver less budget?, while the Welsh Liberal Democrats claimed that up to £10m could be saved through the proposed ?bonfire of the quangos?, which, if it goes ahead, will see the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) and NMGW, together with the National Library of Wales and the Welsh Books Council, being brought under the direct control of the Assembly. Demands have been made by all opposition parties for increases in spending on health and on university education, so question marks will remain over the arts allocation until the budget figures are finalised next month, and the Welsh Assembly Government concludes its review of the cultural quangos. Questioned about the future of ACW, a spokesman said ?We are watching what happens next, we expect a decision by the end of November: meanwhile it?s business as usual while we wait and see.?