ACW Increases WNO's Funding

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News has finally reached the salon of WNO’s funding from the Arts Council of Wales (ACW). Bucking the recent trend of gloomy financial news WNO have seen their funding increased by £250,000 to the tune of £4.7 million for the period 2011 - 2012. However, in real terms the increase from ACW only claws back half of the £500,000 drop in funding from Arts Council England (ACE) for the same period, but in the current environment beggars can’t be choosers. In reality there was little doubt ACW would pull the rug from under its marquee Revenue Funded Organisation (RFO), but all the same, it’s very welcome news for the company.

Of course, with WNO’s increased funding comes the realisation that many arts groups who are as important to people around Wales as WNO is to this head of hair have suffered cuts and, in numerous cases, have had their funding withdrawn. It goes without saying that my hair finds this very upsetting but it wants to point out that WNO haven’t been the sole beneficiaries of ACW’s enforced approach to funding, with many organisations seeing significant increases in their budgets.

Attention now switches to ACE and their funding decisions for the years covering 2012-2015 in spring of next year. In the words of Alex Ferguson, that will be the true squeaky bum time. ACE is WNO’s biggest backer due to the company’s significant presence within various English regions, stretching from the south coast of England to the North West, taking in seven towns and cities, more than double the amount that WNO tours to in Wales.

Read more at Wales Online, BBC and Wales Online (again).