ACW is pleased that additional funding from the Welsh Assembly Government has been earmarked for developing the English Language National Theatre for Wales, (£250,000) and for beacon companies and individuals (a merit pot of £1.5m) to take forward recommendations from the Wales Arts (Stephens) Review.ACW is about to announce the new board members for the English Language National Theatre for Wales; draft criteria for beacon company status will be published shortly and discussed as part of ACW's Art Form Consultation Seminars in February 2008 so that proposals can be made to the Arts Strategy Board later that month. ACW is also pleased to be able to consolidate the inflationary increases in grant allocated last year to its revenue-funded organisations. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to provide additional grant for inflation costs for 2008/09 as the underlying budget has not increased. Other welcome developments include: - £125,000 for a new community arts initiative for the Heads of the Valleys, supplemented by match funding from other partners. ACW will be making an announcement on this in due course. - £43,000 for Community Arts provision in Cardiff and Barry. - £150,000 for Welsh Language Theatre provision - £125,000 to develop Wales's presence at the next Venice Biennale in 2009. - £750,000 from the National Lottery to the Wales Film Agency. Unfortunately, in order to address pressures on its budget, ACW has not been able to offer ongoing funding to all of its existing clients. Four clients have received notice that their revenue funding will be coming to an end, and two others have been notified that their funding is due to be transferred to other clients to deliver the service to the communities concerned. In all six cases, the decision to withdraw funding was based on a rigorous set of criteria that included the future sustainability of the organisation and relevance to the strategic objectives and priorities of the Council. ACW's aim is to focus investment in areas where it can make the most difference, particularly Wales's most deprived areas. The funding proposals are also framed within the context of the Welsh Assembly Government's "Making the Connections" programme to ensure spending is focused on frontline activity and saved on administration and back room costs. The decisions were also made with a view to improving ACW's ability to lever in alternative sources of funding in future as it is anticipated that ACW funding can be used as match funding for additional investment, particularly from European sources. Peter Tyndall, Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Wales, said: "The development of a sustainable portfolio of arts organisations is a key priority for ACW, as is the provision of opportunities for all the people of Wales to experience and participate in the arts. "It is therefore essential that ACW can develop and fund organisations able to deliver this aspiration to a high standard, enabling them to grow and reach their full potential. We have been delighted to announce new areas of growth for next year, but this inevitably means we have had to look for savings from elsewhere in the portfolio." As regards Lottery funding, ACW is pleased to be awarding £750,000 to Film Agency Wales in 2008/09. However, ACW estimates that its funding from the National Lottery will reduce by a third between 2007/08 and 2011/12 as a result of the 2012 Olympic Games. ACW has therefore had to refocus its priorities. |
| Arts Council of Wales web site: www.artswales.org.uk/viewnews.asp?id=765 |
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008 |
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