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The Arts Council of Wales must retain its independent status, Welsh Conservative culture spokeswoman Lisa Francis has demanded. The Mid and West Wales AM has warned that the quango must be kept at arms length from the Welsh Assembly Government to avoid censorship and partisanship. And she said a politicised organisation will have a "detrimental effect" on the development of the arts in Wales, stifling creativity and artists' need for freedom of expression. The call comes as the Labour Assembly Government prepares to announce its plans for the future of several quangos in Wales. Welsh Conservatives have argued that the arts in Wales must not be politicised. The party has questioned what benefits will be gained from bringing arts quangos within the remit of the civil service, and how the arts will fit in with the government's list of competing priorities. Welsh Conservatives are also concerned about a lack of resources for the arts and how this would be resolved by bringing the organisations under assembly government control. The party warns that scrapping arts organisations is a step too far and would be of no added benefit in terms of promoting Welsh culture at home and abroad. Ms Francis said: "We have seen what happens when governments interfered in this in the Eastern Bloc countries. "So far the Welsh Assembly Government has not properly explained its reasons for wanting to bring the Arts Council ‘in-house'. They need to examine just what they mean by a ‘bonfire of the quangos'. "In recent years the Everitt and Twine report was charged with looking at developing the work carried out by the Arts Council in a more integrated way and their findings were actually supported by this administration. So why the U-turn? "The distribution of grants to arts and artists should not be subjected to political interference. This principle is important for the public, for the arts and actually for |
| Welsh Conservative Party web site: www.conservatives.com/wales/story.cfm?obj_id=117264 |
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Wednesday, November 24, 2004 |
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