Funding for the Arts and Culture Sector

Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip – in the Senedd at 2:54 pm on 18 September 2024.

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Photo of Alun Davies Alun Davies Labour 2:54, 18 September 2024

I'm grateful to you for that, Cabinet Secretary. We've seen over recent weeks and months the issues with the national opera and the royal college, who have both been forced by funding cuts to take decisions that are going to have a significant impact on the availability of arts and culture for people across Wales. But we've also seen since 2009 significant cuts in Wales that go beyond that which has been seen in either England or Scotland. The arts council's budget, for example, has been cut by 25 per cent in real terms in that period of time—bigger cuts than have been seen in England and Scotland. In terms of local government funding for the arts and culture sector, we've seen a decline from something over 4 per cent of spending to a little over 2 per cent of spending. So, we've seen cuts from the Welsh Government and from local government that are over and above cuts to other sectors in the last decade or so. This has created the crisis in the arts and culture sector, and I hope that the new Cabinet Secretary will be able to ensure that we reverse these cuts and we ensure that the arts and culture sector is funded properly and on the same basis as other parts of our responsibilities.