Written Response of the Welsh Assembly Government to the Culture, Welsh Language and Sport Committee’s Report into Arts, Sport and Community Regeneration

Purpose: To present the Welsh Assembly Government’s response to the Culture, Welsh Language and Sport Committee’s Report into “Arts, Sport and Community Regeneration.”

Responses to the Report’s recommendations are set out below. The recommendations follow the Report’s headings and numbering.

Chapter 1:  Policies

The Committee recommends that:

• the role of arts and sport must be acknowledged by the Welsh Assembly Government as an integral part of the whole community regeneration process; this should be done through relevant Government policies, in particular, but not exclusively, those on Community Regeneration

Accept. The Assembly Government shares the Committee’s view that arts and sport are an integral part of the community regeneration process.  The establishment of the new Culture Board, chaired by me, provides an opportunity to ensure that community regeneration is firmly embedded in the new cultural policy of the Assembly Government.

This is also identified within the Sport and Physical Activity strategy, Climbing Higher, which refers to people in poorer communities being less likely to participate in sport and physical activity and that we need to focus resources on communities that are most in need and with most to gain.

The focus on commmunity regeneration policies is also accepted as important.  Arts and sport are key components of the Communities First Programme. The Communities First Vision Framework which guides Communities First Partnerships in drawing up their work programmes and action plans specifically recommends the taking forward of arts, cultural and sports activities which will help build confidence, improve health and develop transferable skills.  Welsh Assembly Government policy is that policies and programmes are targeted (mainstreamed) at Communities First areas. It is therefore vitally important that agencies involved in arts and sport offer advice and support to Communities First Partnerships on these issues. As Communities First is a community driven approach to regeneration, it is a matter for the Communities First partnerships to decide if issues around arts and sport are deemed as key priorities for the regeneration of their areas.

I will work with my colleague the Minister for Social Justice and Regeneration to ensure that Communities First Partnerships are aware of the benefits and the opportunities to be gained from engaging in arts and sports activities. I will ensure that the Arts and Sports Councils are proactive in offering their support and guidance to Partnerships to encourage yet further involvement.

I share the view of the Minister for Social Justice and Regeneration that participation in sport and arts activities by young people is very important in diverting them away from the temptations of crime or anti-social behaviour. The Welsh Assembly Government has made this clear in its “Extending Entitlement” strategy. One of the ten universal entitlements for young people aged between 11 and 25 is the right  to participate in sporting, artistic, musical and outdoor experiences to develop talent, broaden horizons and promote rounded perspective. These universal entitlements are very much part of the All Wales Youth Offending Strategy published in July last year. Assembly Government officials are already actively seeking to develop links between arts and sport and youth crime prevention. A seminar was held at the National Sports Centre last year, attended by representatives of the Assembly Government and the Youth Justice Board, as well as the Arts and Sports Councils for Wales. Officials will be holding further discussions with these Councils shortly to discuss how to take positive action on this.  

Many activities around arts and sport have been supported through the Communities First Programme. The programme has funded arts and sports activity across Wales from Anglesey,  Wrexham and Barmouth to Aberfan, Merthyr and Rhondda Cynon Taf.  In addition, funding was awarded for PLAY grants (under the Communities First Programme) to local authorities for a variety of projects such as multi-use games areas and skateboard parks. Also, the Communities First Trust Fund has provided community groups with small grants, for example,  for sports equipment, instruments, kit and transport costs.

The Assembly Government encourages arts and sport spending in Communities First areas.  The Clwyd Mobile Theatre, for example,  targeted deprived communities and all but one of the venues was in a Communities First area. The 2004 Mobile Theatre was supported by a Welsh Assembly Government grant of £100,000 from the Arts Outside Cardiff budget and  sponsorship from LloydsTSB and Arts & Business Cymru. The mobile theatre toured across Wales in the autumn of 2004,  going to Connah’s Quay, Plas Madoc in Wrexham,  Pillgwenlly in Newport, Tylorstown in the Rhondda and Caerphilly before finishing at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold in November.

Financial implications: none

• consideration should be given to the integration of arts and sport in related Welsh Assembly Government regeneration policies on health, education, employment and the economy, which in turn need to be co-ordinated through some form of over arching mechanism

Accept.  The Assembly Government seeks to ensure that cross - cutting policies are taken forward across all policy portfolios.  The synergies between sport and health are set out clearly in Climbing Higher, for instance. In order to take forward the Climbing Higher strategy and to meet the strategic targets set, a Sport and Physical Activity Working Group has been established to prepare a fully integrated departmental action plan.

It is appropriate, in the context of cross-cutting policies, to note that all of the activities referred to in this paper need to be taken forward in a way which facilitates participation in English and Welsh in line with Assembly Government commitments in Iaith Pawb.

In developing a new culture strategy for Wales the Culture Board will engage with, and receive input from, organisations active in all the policy areas above,  both within and without government.

Good practice exists, of course, and the research mentioned below lists much of it.  In particular the University of Glamorgan research is associated with a website of organisations and good practice in socially engaged arts. An example of cross cutting practice is the proposal by Homeless Link for an arts prize for the homeless to be exhibited around Wales with an exhibition of the finalists in the National Museum and Gallery of Wales.

Financial Implications:  There is a need to provide greater opportunities for local people to engage positively with, and within, their own communities, through sport and physical activity and socially engaged arts. I will be discussing opportunities in this area, and the targeting of arts and sport activity in Communities First areas with the Finance Minister in the context of the 2005 Budget Planning Round.

• further consideration should be given by the Welsh Assembly Government to the issues raised in the research by the University of Glamorgan and Voluntary Arts Wales

Accept. I launched The University of Glamorgan research “Changing Spaces” at a conference of community arts practitioners in Swansea on April 28th.  This research,  which was commissioned by the Assembly Government, aims to facilitate:
• the development of the arts in health
• the arts and social inclusion
• the arts and learning
• the further development of research in this area.

“Changing Spaces” and the Voluntary Arts Wales research are fundamental planks in the initial construction of the Assembly Government’s new culture strategy for Wales. These studies are complemented by further work by the University of Glamorgan,  also commissioned by the Assembly Government,  “A Cultural Knowledge Index:  Developing a Research and Evaulation Framework for Culture Strategy in Wales.”

Financial implications: None

Chapter 2: Practices

The Committee recommends that:

• The Welsh Assembly Government should consider undertaking an  audit of publicly funded arts and sport activity in community regeneration  

Accept in principle: The Assembly Government shares the Committee’s view that the evidence base for cultural policy should be improved. The research quoted in the Committee review is a good starting point,  but a comprehensive audit would both identify the good practice,  and establish the gaps in provision.  It would be important in informing the Culture Board and in implementing the new culture policy.

The Wales Audit Office is currently considering how they may best take forward an area of work which focuses on the value of sport and physical activity at a local and community level.

Financial implications:  Commissioning a full audit would have cost implications. Following the First Minister’s announcement on ASPB reform, and the merging of the Arts Council’s and Sports Council’s research and evaluation activity with the Assembly Government, we will be able to look strategically at our information requirements.


• This audit should not be confined to activities supported by the cultural agencies but should include those supported by local authorities

Accept.

• The Welsh Assembly Government should consider practical ways of  helping to share best practice amongst all agencies in order to better co-ordinate efforts in the field. These should include the development of best practice guidance (based on advice from practitioners), which should reach as wide an audience as possible, and using Cymru’n Creu or the new Culture Board as a forum for sharing information in this area

Accept:  The key features of our approach to research, monitoring and the evaluation of Creative Future: Cymru Greadigol and the Climbing Higher strategy is to agree baseline measures, develop data collection, identify and fill gaps in the evidence base, including different policy interventions and identify and review areas of good practice, ensuring that key partners are included.    The Culture Board will also have an important role as a forum for sharing information,  and for ensuring dialogue between other key players.

Financial Implications:  Developing best practice guidance clearly has a resource implication.  The merging of the Arts and Sports Councils’ strategy, policy and research capabilities with the Assembly Government will provide a good opportunity to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in taking this forward.

Chapter 3:  Funding

The Committee recommends that:


• arts and sport need to have a higher profile in the Welsh Assembly Government's Communities First funding programmes

Accept, but in the proper context:  As indicated above,  Arts and sport are key components of the Communities First Programme and are identified as priority activities in the Communities First Vision Framework.   Communities First is a community driven approach to regeneration and it is for the Communities First partnerships to decide if issues around arts and sport are deemed as key priorities for the regeneration of their areas. The Communities First budget is primarily a facilitation mechanism and that budget is limited. Our commitment to mainstreaming Communities First across all Assembly Government portfolios means that is vitally important that the agencies involved in developing and funding arts and sport target Communities First areas - and do so in a way which fully involves the communities themselves. I will make sure that this message is communicated clearly and effectively to the Arts and Sports Councils. I am sure that Climbing Higher  will be a useful guide for those involved,  and the principles underpinning Creative Future: Cymru Greadigol remain valid.

Financial Implications: None

• each programme of support within the Welsh Assembly Government needs to be considered in terms of its potential long-term value to the community. Where necessary, funding beyond five years should be an option, although appropriate “exit strategies” need to be drawn up so that the value of the original development is not lost once funding has been withdrawn

Accept in principle.  The Assembly Government shares the Committee’s view that programmes of support need to be considered in terms of their potential long-term value to the community.

This is how our Sports Council for Wales has and continues to configure and deliver its programmes which are based upon a set of operational intervention groupings which can be applied selectively at a community level to develop plans specific to individual communities. This links in with the evaluation framework that we are delivering on the Free Swimming scheme with communities across Wales.

Our Arts Council of Wales normally has three year funding agreements with its revenue clients.

Financial Implications: Under HM Treasury accounting rules it is not currently possible to provide indicative funding figures beyond three years.

• access to Welsh Assembly Government funding needs to be made simpler and more flexible in order to accommodate local developments and initiatives

Accept . This forms the precise basis of our partnership with local authorities to deliver Free Swimming. This allows considerable flexibility for local authorities in accordance with local needs and priorities within an agreed criteria framework.

Our Arts Council has simplified and integrated its funding schemes to ensure better and simpler access.

Financial Implications:  None

• community arts in Wales  should be appropriately recognised by the Welsh Assembly Government through additional funding and support

Accept:  Community arts are appropriately recognised in Wales.  The Joseph Rowntree Foundation report “Creative Regeneration: Lessons from ten community arts projects” shows how ten arts projects in Wales have made a major impact in their communities. Socially engaged arts are a genuine strength in Wales.  We accept that the strong growth in arts lottery funding has been a significant factor in growth in the socially engaged arts sector,  and that this growth has now reached a plateau. The Communities First programme acknowledges the benefits to be obtained by the community and individuals through their active participation in arts and sports activities; hence the encouragement given in the Vision Framework. Our Arts Council of Wales has responded by increasing scheme funding for community arts,  and has made an application for major European funding to complement this work.