New cash for Wales

A £2.2m funding boost has been announced for the heritage sector in Wales (which includes the arts), as part of the Welsh Assembly Government’s drive to protect frontline services and counter the effects of the recession. Existing revenue funds will be maintained for 2010/11, with an additional £285,000 for the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) to develop creative networks and £200,000 allocated for work with the Department of Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills to help disadvantaged young people train through local arts organisations. ACW is also undertaking a review of its Lottery Capital Programme over the period from 1999 to the present. It will assess the impact that capital projects have had on wider regeneration and make recommendations on future capital programme policy and priorities. The National Campaign for the Arts has welcomed ACW’s efforts “to look in depth at the value that large-scale capital projects have on infrastructure”.