An agreement between the Labour and Plaid Cymru Groups in the National Assembly for Wales includes clear commitments by Rhodri Morgan, Leader of the Labour Party Wales, and Ieuan Wyn Jones, Leader of Plaid Cymru, to making high quality cultural experiences available to all, irrespective of where they live or their background. To help achieve this goal, the new coalition pledges to place a statutory obligation on local authorities to promote culture and encourage partnership to deliver high quality cultural experiences for their communities.
Support for Waless artistic producers to participate on the international stage is made explicit in the agreement, and consideration will now be given to enshrining the concept of artistic freedom in Welsh law, subject to the Assemblys new powers. Other aims build on earlier policy directions and emphasise new developments, including commitments to establish a national English language theatre, to support a gallery to house works by the late artist Sir Kyffin Williams, and to explore the creation of a national gallery for Wales. The leaders also plan to implement the recommendations of the Stephens Review (see AP issue 135) into the future development of the arts in Wales so that there is a clear approach to setting strategic policy, and to ensure continued free access to museums and galleries, as well as giving Welsh pensioners and children free entry to Assembly-funded heritage sites. Funding will also be made available for pilot schemes for Saturday and summer schools for sport, music and the arts.
The pledges were made in the publication One Wales A progressive agenda for the government of Wales, which documents the outcome of a rapid and intensive period of discussion and negotiation between the two largest parties in the Assembly; their coalition agreement means that they now share the responsibility of delivering cultural and other policies across Wales. However, both parties will retain their individual identities and ideological distinctiveness throughout, and the leaders warned, We are& aware of this agreements limitations, since entering a coalition does not mean merging our parties.