|
A selection of qustions to, and answers from, Tom Middlehurst; from the Assembly's web site |
|
Cwestiynau i'r Ysgrifennydd Addysg a Hyfforddiant Ôl-16 Questions to the Secretary for Post-16 Education and Training Funding for Arts Organisations Q4 Mick Bates: What steps are being taken to ensure adequate continuity of funding for arts organisations which are heavily dependent on lottery funding? (OAQ4384) Tom Middlehurst: As you know, the Arts Council of Wales is responsible for the arts lottery fund in Wales, and takes decisions on funding independently of the Assembly. In 1997, the Arts Council launched the lottery revenue funding programme Arts for All, which funds arts projects' running costs. It supports projects that encourage people to enjoy and take part in the arts, or which provide training in the arts. It was always intended to be a three-year, one-off programme, which would provide opportunities for organisations to undertake the developmental work necessary to support their activities. It was intended that recipients should produce, as part of their submission and business plan, an exit strategy that would provide for sustainability, or that the project would be completed in those three years. I am aware of the difficulties facing some organisations at the moment. Mick Bates: Thank you for that answer. However, I am concerned about continuity, which is often lost. I will give a comparison. The Welsh National Opera is heavily funded. In mid Wales we have Mid Wales Opera, which takes opera to the people and, unfortunately, now lacks at least £48,000. What action do you propose to take to ensure that opera will still be taken to the people of Wales? Tom Middlehurst: That is a matter for the Arts Council of Wales. Like you, I value the work of Mid Wales Opera. I put that on record. There have been excellent productions, which have been well received by the community. However, the terms and conditions of the Arts for All grant for Mid Wales Opera included the requirement for it to produce a sustainable level of support for the activity which has been supported by lottery funds. It is important to acknowledge that it would be wrong to lock in resources for particular projects indefinitely, because that might deny other worthy projects the opportunity to access lottery funds as ideas and imaginative proposals emerge. Therefore, three years was seen as the limit for which lottery funds could be committed to particular projects. If Mid Wales Opera is no longer able to operate at the level that it has been in recent years, I regret that. I hope that it can find alternative sources of funding to sustain it. David Davies: Given the support that you have just put on record for smaller opera companies, we ask you to take up this matter with the Arts Council of Wales and use your powers, as the Assembly Secretary responsible, to ask it to deliver what the people of Wales want. After all, is that not what the Assembly is all about? Tom Middlehurst: I will discuss with the Arts Council the use of lottery funds, but it is for it to determine, within its remit, which bidder it should support. I will not impose my will. It would be wrong for me to seek support for individual projects on the Assembly's behalf. This must be seen to be an impartial process and bids must be judged on merit. It is a matter for the Arts Council to determine how it allocates these resources Answers to Questions not reached in Plenary 29 March 2000 The Arts Council of Wales Drama Policy Q28 Owen John Thomas: What meetings has Tom Middlehurst had during the past month with the officers of the Arts Council of Wales concerning its drama policy? (OAQ4399) Tom Middlehurst: None. Financing the Arts in Wales (Maintaining Accountability) Q23 Cynog Dafis: Will Tom Middlehurst make a statement on the importance of maintaining accountability with regard to financing the arts in Wales using public money? (OAQ4402) Tom Middlehurst: Maintaining accountability for the use of public money is crucial. The Assembly provides the Arts Council of Wales with funding to enable it to encourage artistic development, increase access and provide advice and information to support the arts in Wales. The First Secretary is accountable to the Assembly for general policy for the educational and cultural development of Wales and the funds allocated to the Council. The Assembly's principal accounting officer--the Permanent Secretary, is responsible for ensuring that the financial and management controls applied by the Assembly are appropriate and sufficient to safeguard public funds and that those being applied by the Council conform with the requirements both of propriety and good financial management. In addition, as Assembly Secretary, I am responsible for approving the Council's corporate plan, after discussions with the Post-16 Education and Training Committee. The Assembly's principal accounting officer has designated the chief executive as an accounting officer to be personally responsible for the proper stewardship and expenditure of public funds and the day-to-day operations and management of the Council. The chief executive, either alone or together with Assembly's principal accounting officer are liable to be summoned to appear before the public accounts committee, the Assembly Audit Committee, or other Assembly Committees, to account for the uses to which public funds have been put, and the stewardship of those funds. Government responsibility for the National Lottery Distribution Fund lies with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. The Arts Council of Wales is financially accountable to DCMS for their Lottery activities. However, the Assembly is responsible for policy and strategy in this area. This is exercised by issuing policy directions and by approving the Council's strategic plans. National Lottery 'Good Causes' Q8 David Melding: What powers does Tom Middlehurst possess to issue directions to the national lottery 'good causes' in Wales? (OAQ4428) Tom Middlehurst: At present six distributors provide lottery funding in Wales. Of these two are based in Wales, the arts lottery fund managed by the Arts Council of Wales and the sports lottery fund-- SPORTLOT, managed by the Sports Council for Wales. The remaining four--the Heritage Lottery Fund, the National Lottery Charities Board, the New Opportunities Fund and the Millennium Commission--are UK bodies primarily responsible to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, though the Assembly takes an interest in their activities in Wales. The Assembly has the power to issue directions to all these bodies in relation to their distribution of funding in Wales, though, in the case of the UK bodies these would need to be agreed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Supporting Theatre in Education Groups Q9 David Davies: What action is Tom Middlehurst taking to support theatre in education groups? (OAQ4394) Tom Middlehurst: The Assembly's support for theatre in education groups is channelled through the Arts Council of Wales. The Council has announced the suspension of the theatre in education part of its drama strategy. It will therefore continue to fund all eight theatre in education companies until the outcome of its review is known. The Welsh Local Government Association and the Arts Council of Wales are considering how local authority and Council funding, as well as earned income, can best combine to support a sustainable provision of work for young people. The companies themselves and other advisors will be involved in these discussions. Promoting Opera in Rural Wales Q26 Mick Bates: How does Tom Middlehurst intend to promote opera in rural Wales? (OAQ4392) Tom Middlehurst: All the Assembly's financial support for arts organisations is channelled through the Arts Council of Wales. The Council has responsibility to determine its artistic policy and strategy and to decide the allocation of funds available to it in accordance with its own judgement between different art forms and the funding of artists, organisations and venues. The Council provides a core grant to Mid-Wales Opera as a contribution to its core overheads and it is able to produce small-scale work. There is also a thriving tradition of voluntary activity in opera as in other art forms in mid-Wales. The Arts Council promotes this voluntary activity through the voluntary arts umbrella bodies. The Council has made a major 3-year Lottery project grant to Voluntary Arts Wales to support and train their members and develop the sector. Funding Voluntary Bodies in the Arts Sector Q30 Peter Black: What plans does Tom Middlehurst have to review the way that voluntary bodies in the arts sector are funded? (OAQ4373) Tom Middlehurst: Voluntary bodies in the arts sector are funded through the Arts Council of Wales. The Council has responsibility to decide the allocation of funds available to it in accordance with its own judgement. The Council is developing a compact with the voluntary sector in accordance with the Assembly's requirements. The balance of funding between the professional and voluntary sector is one of the matters on which the Post-16 Education and Training Committee may wish to comment when it reports on its review of the arts later this year. |
| National Assembly of Wales web site: www.wales.gov.uk |
| e-mail: |
Wednesday, March 29, 2000 |
Older news
stories have been carefully archived.
2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999