CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales
Museums Current Awareness Service 34a
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The National Assembly for Wales
The Record of Proceedings
Wednesday, 29 March 2006
http://www.wales.gov.uk/servlet/_Toc131496079
Questions to the Minister for Culture, Welsh Language and Sport
The Role of the Arts in Regenerating the Valleys
Q1 Huw Lewis: Will the Minister make a statement on the role of the arts in
regenerating the Valleys? OAQ0698(CWS)
The Minister for Culture, Welsh Language and Sport (Alun Pugh): The arts are
important in their own right, but they also have a major role to play in
building communities, growing the economy, and developing skills. It is
vital that we deliver the arts to all corners of Wales, including Valleys
areas such as Merthyr, which our investment has not yet fully reached.
Huw Lewis: I congratulate you, in passing, on the way that you have stood up
to opposition attempts to sabotage your promotion of social justice in the
arts and arts spending. I particularly welcome the interim appointment of
Dai Smith as chair of the Arts Council of Wales. Will the Minister outline
the role that he sees for the arts and culture in the development of the
Heads of the Valleys strategy, which must have at its core not just purely
economic outcomes, but a permanent improvement in the quality of life in our
communities?
Alun Pugh: That is a fair point. Communities along the Heads of the Valleys
are certainly in need of substantial public investment. I am very clear on
that. On the appointment of Dai Smith as the interim and temporary chair of
the Arts Council of Wales, I can think of very few people in Wales who could
bring the combination of his distinguished academic record and his
accomplished management expertise to bear.
Rhodri Glyn Thomas: He was the only one who wanted to do it.
The Presiding Officer: Order. I heard that.
Owen John Thomas: What is the latest on the proposal for the establishment
of a museum of photographic history in Margam, Port Talbot?
Alun Pugh: That is a project that I look at with great interest. Developing
the display of the photographic record of Wales is a very interesting
project. I will write to you with the latest details of that scheme.
Owen John Thomas: I am somewhat disappointed by your response. I would have
thought that you could have provided some details on how the Government is
making progress and promoting the arts in a disadvantaged area like Port
Talbot. I look forward to receiving your letter.
Rhondda Cynon Taf has been considering keeping back its contribution towards
the local history museum in Pontypridd, which is also a disadvantaged area.
Have you had any discussions to ensure that the Labour-led council in
Rhondda Cynon Taf supports that history museum?
Alun Pugh: I know that Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council values the
cultural heritage of the Rhondda valley. Legal responsibility for local
museums falls on a variety of sectors. Local authorities operate many local
museums and other local museums are owned by charitable trusts.
In respect of your comments on disadvantaged areas, this is a major focus of
Labour Party policy. We want to make sure that the considerable public
investment in the arts, and more importantly, the wider investment in terms
of the whole cultural budget, widely impacts on disadvantaged areas.
Leighton Andrews: One example of the arts regenerating the Valleys is the
Valleys Kids development at Soar Ffrwdamos chapel in Penygraig, in my
constituency, which receives support from the Arts Council of Wales and
other Assembly funds to the tune of nearly £2.5 million. I urge you to
return to Rhondda to visit that development as it is now nearing completion.
It will be a significant venue for arts and cultural activities in the
mid-Rhondda area.
Alun Pugh: It is an exciting project. I enjoyed my first visit there, and I
enjoy every visit back home to the Rhondda. I will be happy to visit the
Valleys Kids project as it reaches fruition.
Funding in the South Wales Valleys
Q3 Huw Lewis: Will the Minister make a statement on the level of Cadw
funding in the south Wales Valleys? OAQ0699(CWS)
Alun Pugh: Cadw's grant schemes have contributed millions of pounds to the
economies of the south Wales Valleys through the preservation of historic
buildings and ancient monuments. It also manages some of our prestigious
historic sites, such as Caerphilly castle and the Blaenafon ironworks. This
very substantial investment helps to regenerate many Valley communities.
Huw Lewis: I am sure that you agree that investing in our historic
environment is crucial to developing the tourism potential of the Valleys.
However, will you commit to taking a closer look at those Cadw spending
figures? The latest figures that I have available suggest that nothing has
been spent in the Merthyr borough since 1998. Cadw provides an average of
£0.5 million a year per local authority across Wales; the south Wales
Valleys on average enjoy only half of that, so there is a disparity in
funding comparable with that of the arts council. If you take Monmouth,
Pembrokeshire or Powys individually, you will find that there is a greater
spend there from Cadw than in Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Blaenau
Gwent, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend and Torfaen combined. That is another
spending social injustice in Wales. I ask you to look urgently at this
matter.
Alun Pugh: I will certainly look into the distribution of the funding. I am
not sure whether I entirely recognise all of those figures. Perhaps we are
talking about two separate grant schemes. According to the figures that I
have, some £235,000 has been invested in the Merthyr industrial area,
including significant grants to the Cyfarthfa ironworks and the Penydarren
tram road. I will write to you with the details and perhaps we can do a
reconciliation of figures.
William Graham: May I suggest that you make use of the townscape heritage
initiative, particularly in Merthyr?
Alun Pugh: Our colleagues in Cadw are working in partnership with a number
of national and local bodies to restore buildings and communities under town
scheme partnerships and the townscape heritage initiative. A number of
schemes, including in Rhymney-I am sure that Huw will be interested in
that-Maesteg and Neath, among others, are doing a great deal of very good
work in this area.
Leighton Andrews: My colleague, Huw Lewis, makes some important points about
the spatial distribution of Cadw funding, and the same could be applied to
other bodies working in the field of cultural heritage. It would be helpful
if we were to see a proper audit of the spending of Cadw's resources and
other bodies in the area, such as the heritage lottery fund. Many of us
believe that the National Trust and others spend rather less than they
should do in the south Wales Valleys.
Alun Pugh: I cannot speak on behalf of non-governmental bodies, but I will
ensure that you receive an analysis of both the Government's schemes and the
heritage lottery schemes, which is also public money, to further inform the
debate. I will also place a copy in the Library.
Current Awareness Service
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Carol Whittaker AMA
Museums Development Adviser
CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales
Welsh Assembly Government
01970 610 238
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