Culture Minister Alun Pugh's bid to introduce direct funding for six of Wales' biggest arts organisations has been seriously undermined by Peter Hain.Mr Hain, who combines the role of Secretary of State for Wales with that of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, has just announced a major shake-up of quangos in Northern Ireland. But despite making sweeping changes, he has stuck with the principle of arm's-length funding for the arts. In Wales, Mr Pugh has come under serious attack over his proposal to fund directly six of the biggest arts organisations. Opposition politicians and many members of the arts community argue that direct funding of the arts - rather than allowing the Arts Council of Wales to make specific funding decisions - will politicise the arts and lead to censorship and self-censorship. The row led Mr Pugh to effectively sack the respected chair of the Arts Council of Wales, Geraint Talfan Davies. Mr Davies' term of office expires at the end of next week, but as yet no advertisement has been placed for his successor. Full story at the Western `Mail web site below.... |
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Thursday, March 23, 2006 |
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