Plaid pledges to increase culture spending

Plaid Cymru has promises to increase spending year on year for culture, arts and sport in Wales if they win the next Senedd election.

On Friday (August 8), Plaid's spokesman for Culture, Heledd Fychan, will deliver a lecture on the grounds of the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham on the future of culture and the arts in Wales.

She is expected to outline how a Plaid Cymru government will make these sectors a central part of its mission to make Wales a healthier and wealthier nation as part of a new preventive health agenda.

Fychan says this means that the Plaid Cymru government will take a "whole of government approach" towards culture enabling the sector to play a vital role in terms of wellbeing, economic growth and social cohesion.

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Mental health

Studies have shown that engaging with creative activities like art, music, dance, and attending cultural events can reduce stress, improve mood, boost self-esteem, and foster social connections.

In 2023/24 alone, every £1 invested in the arts in Wales generated economic returns worth £2.51.

Plaid says that after a decade of underinvestment in the culture and arts sectors in Wales, the country is now second from the bottom of the table of all European countries in terms of expenditure per person for cultural services.

The party has pledged to increase spending on culture, the arts and sport year after year as a percentage of the entire Welsh budget during its first term.

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'Healthier'

Heledd Fychan said: "Culture, the arts and sport will be central to the Plaid Cymru government's ambition to create a healthier and wealthier Wales.

"Not only does that mean more funding, but a new approach from the government to ensure that culture is at the heart of everything we do.

"Culture is the heartbeat of Wales. This is how we tell stories, keep our language as a living language, celebrate our history, and express our values. It connects us to each other, and to our past.

"But under the Welsh Labor Government, the arts and culture in Wales have been left to wither, and access to them restricted.

"Plaid Cymru is clear: the arts, culture and sport are not luxuries, but an integral part of who we are as a nation - and access for all is an essential part of supporting people to stay physically and mentally healthy."