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Communities and Culture Committee: inquiry into the ‘accessibility of arts and cultural activities in Wales’ |
The Communities and Culture Committee is a cross party committee, made up of Members from all 4 political parties represented at the National Assembly for Wales. It is responsible for examining the expenditure, administration and policy of the Welsh Government, and associated public bodies, in relation to Housing, Community Safety, Community Inclusion, the Welsh Language, Sport and Culture. One of the Welsh Government’s main commitments, outlined in ‘One Wales,’ was that ‘high-quality cultural experiences are available to all people, irrespective of where they live or their background.’ As a result of this commitment, many arts and cultural activities receive funding and support, directly or indirectly, from the Welsh Government. We intend to examine whether such investment has been effective in achieving the Welsh Government’s stated objective of widening accessibility to cultural experiences. We are also conscious that the current financial climate will inevitably put pressure on such support, and intend to consider what impact this may have on the Welsh Government’s stated objective of widening accessibility. We therefore consider that an inquiry into the accessibility of arts and cultural activities to be both timely, and within the remit of our cross-party Committee. Recent Welsh Government policy announcements Following the publication of ‘One Wales,’ the Welsh Government made several announcements related to its aim of increasing accessibility to cultural experiences, including: ° the continuation of a scheme that provides free access to museums and galleries in Wales; ° the Libraries for Life strategy that would provide £10.5 million between 2008-2011 to modernise library facilities in Wales; ° two grant schemes worth £860,000 each to encourage local museums and archives to attract new visitors; ° £1.7 million to improve access to Wales’s national art collections; and ° the recent publication of the Museums Strategy for Wales 2010-2015, which deals with sharing resources and attracting new and younger audiences. The Arts Council of Wales The Arts Council of Wales (‘the Arts Council’) is the national strategic body for the arts in Wales, distributing funds for the arts on behalf of the Welsh Government. The Minister for Heritage’s 2009-10 remit letter stated that the Arts Council would be expected to contribute to the Welsh Government’s aims by ‘focusing investment on increasing access to and widening participation in high-quality arts, particularly in areas of deprivation.’ To this end, the Arts Council has published two draft strategies related to widening access: ° Changing Lives: Arts Council of Wales Strategy for Children, Young People and the Arts, which outlines the Arts Council’s strategy over the next three years to improve participation in the arts among children and young people, with particular emphasis on ensuring that opportunities are available for children and young people to engage in arts closer to home; and ° Taking Part: Arts Council of Wales Arts Participation Strategy 2009-2013, which aims to increase opportunities for people to actively participate in the arts, mainly by promoting the benefits of participating and by signposting more effectively what is on offer across Wales. The 2008 Omnibus Survey The Arts Council of Wales’s 2008 Omnibus Survey interviewed around 1,000 people in Wales in order to gather information about attendances at arts events and participation in arts activities. The main findings were as follows: ° 79 per cent of Welsh adults attend at least one arts event, once a year or more often; ° there is much less regional variation in the overall attendance levels than in previous years; ° overall arts attendance continues to correlate with social grade, with those in social grades ABC1 (86 per cent) being more likely to attend the arts than those in the C2DE grouping (72 per cent); ° younger adults are much more likely than older adults to attend an arts event (92 per cent of 16-24 year olds compared with 62 per cent of those aged 65 and over); ° females (82 per cent) are more likely than males (75 per cent) to attend an arts event; ° there is virtually no difference in the propensity to attend the arts by the ability to speak Welsh or not; ° 31 per cent of Welsh adults take a direct part in artistic activities once a year or more, but Welsh speakers are more likely than non-Welsh speakers to directly participate in such activities (42 per cent compared with 28 per cent); The 2010 Investment Review In addition, on 29 June 2010 the Arts Council announced the outcome of its detailed Investment Review of its funding arrangements, determining a new portfolio of 71 revenue funded organisations (RFOs) that would receive priority for Arts Council funding from 1 April 2011 onwards. As a result of the review, 32 organisations in Wales that currently receive annual revenue funding will see this arrangement end from April 2011. The Arts Council has stated that it intends to provide support to these organisations through a transition programme. Terms of Reference To conduct an inquiry into the accessibility of arts and cultural activities in Wales, examining the geographic spread of venues, the activities that take place in those centres, and issues of access and funding. In particular, the Committee will look into the following: ° the impact of the Welsh Government’s investment in museums, libraries and archives in the context of providing access to cultural activities; ° the impact of the Arts Council for Wales’s Investment Review, published in June 2010, on all cultural activities and venues in Wales; ° the possible impact of the Welsh Government’s budget for 2011-12 on all cultural activities and venues in Wales; ° the geographic spread of venues and activities and how access is promoted across Wales; ° the demographic variation in levels of attendance and participation, particularly in the context of equality, diversity and inclusion; ° the key role played by local authorities in providing access to arts and cultural activities. Invitation to contribute to the inquiry Interested parties are invited to submit written evidence to the Clerk of the Committee at the above address, to arrive no later than Friday 24 September 2010. If possible, please supply an electronic version in MS Word or Rich Text format, by e mail to Community.Culture.comm@Wales.gov.uk Please indicate in your paper whether you would be interested in presenting your views to the Committee in person. Please begin your submission by providing some information about yourself, or your organisation, before setting out your views and experiences in relation to some or all of the following issues. What we'd like from you - consultation questions 1. Do you consider the Welsh Government to have achieved its commitment of ensuring that ‘high-quality cultural experiences are available to all people, irrespective of where they live or their background?’ How effective has its investment in arts and cultural activities been in realising this objective? 2. How exactly are arts and cultural venues – including museums, libraries and archives – actively promoting access, attracting new audiences and encouraging participation in line with the One Wales commitment and the Arts Council’s strategies? 3. Is the current network of arts and cultural venues in Wales sufficient, and are there any geographic or other issues that continue to act as barriers to participation (eg in rural areas or areas of deprivation)? 4. What will be the impact of the Arts Council’s Investment Review on the network of venues and cultural activities that take place across Wales? Do you consider that the Arts Council’s decision to discontinue funding to 32 organisations, as a result of the Investment Review, will have a significant impact on the accessibility of cultural venues or activities? Does a concentration of funding avoid it being spread too thinly, and achieving little? 5. The Welsh Government will not be announcing the Arts Council’s budget for 2011-2012 until December 2010. What impact do you believe a reduction in the Arts Council’s budget would have on the accessibility of arts and cultural activities in Wales? 6. Do you have any concerns about the variation in range and quality of local authority cultural services and activities provided across Wales? Are local authorities adequately resourced to consistently fund and support cultural activities in the current economic climate? 7. The Arts Council of Wales’s 2008 Omnibus Survey suggested that people who were professionals, qualified or involved in non-manual work were more likely to attend an art event than those who were Skilled or semi-skilled manual workers, and non-working people. Is this consistent with your own experiences? Can you provide an explanation for this variation, and how can this variation be addressed? 8. The Arts Council of Wales’s 2008 Omnibus Survey suggested that younger adults were more likely to attend an arts event than older adults. Is this consistent with your own experiences? Can you provide an explanation for this variation, and how can this variation be addressed? 9. The Arts Council of Wales’s 2008 Omnibus Survey suggested that females were more likely to attend an arts event than males. Is this consistent with your own experiences? Can you provide an explanation for this variation, and how can this variation be addressed? 10. The Arts Council of Wales’s 2008 Omnibus Survey suggested that Welsh Language Speakers were more likely to directly participate in the arts than non Welsh Language Speakers. Is this consistent with your own experiences? Can you provide an explanation for this variation, and how can this variation be addressed? 11. Are you aware of any other significant variations in the public’s attendance and participation in the arts and cultural activities (for example based on ethnic background, disabilities, location in an urban or rural area)? 12. Are there any further comments you'd like to make about the accessibility of arts and cultural activities in Wales? The Committee has invited submissions from those on the attached distribution list (Annex 1). However we would be grateful if you could forward a copy of the letter to any individuals or organisations that are not included but who you believe might like to contribute to the review. A copy of this letter has also been placed on the National Assembly’s website with an open invitation to submit views. Disclosure of Information Witnesses should be aware that once written evidence has been submitted to the Committee it is treated as the property of the Committee. It is the Committee’s intention to place written papers on its website, and may subsequently be printed with the report. The National Assembly will not publish information which it considers to be personal data. However, in the event of a request for information submitted under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, it may be necessary to disclose the information that you provide. This may include information which has previously been removed by the National Assembly for publication purposes. If you are providing any information, other than personal data, which you feel is not suitable for public disclosure, or if you do not wish your identity, as author of the evidence, to be disclosed, this must be clearly identified and it is up to you to stipulate which parts should not be published, and to provide a reasoned argument to support this. The National Assembly will take this into account when publishing information or responding to requests for information. Further information about the Committee and its inquiry can be found at: http://www.assemblywales.org/bus-home/bus-committees/bus-committees-scrutiny-committees.htm |
| wales assembly government web site: www.assemblywales.org/bus-home/bus-committees/bus-committees-scrutiny-committees.htm |
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Wednesday, July 21, 2010 |
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