Welsh beneficiaries

Ruthin Crafts Centre, Earthfall and No Fit State Circus (pictured) are among eight beneficiaries of a surplus in the Welsh Assembly Government?s (WAG) 2004/05 budget. The grants, which include £36,000 to the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) for access work on its Camarthen office, total £290,000.

Although the distribution of such funds at the end of the financial year is a relatively regular occurrence, this year?s allocation is likely to come under increased scrutiny by the arts community in Wales in light of WAG?s ongoing campaign to reduce the power and influence of ACW. Critics of this perceived attack on the arm?s-length relationship between the arts and government in Wales have suggested that it will lead to the lobbying of individual politicians and personal patronage by key ministers. WAG was unable to clarify the criteria the eight projects had met in order to receive the grants and could not confirm whether any application process had taken place.