A creative Wales, a well Wales

Culture is the lifeblood of Wales. Art and music, our language, heritage and sporting traditions are fundamental to who we are as a nation.

Wales needs a government that truly values culture and the creative industries and understands their role in unlocking more of our economic potential, sustaining vibrant and cohesive communities, and promoting the well-being of our people.

In the arts, media and sport, Wales is a small nation that has long punched well above its weight on the global stage. With a new vision and strong leadership for Welsh culture, sport and language, we will strengthen Wales’s position as a cultural powerhouse.

The benefits of the arts, heritage and sport for health and well-being are well established. We want people of all ages and abilities to have more and better opportunities to take part in physical activity, community arts, theatre and music.

And we will protect and strengthen the Welsh language in every part of Wales – through our education system and in our communities.

Actions in the first 100 days:

Culture

  • Launch a consultation on our priorities for a new Culture Strategy, including formal engagement with partners across the arts, sport, culture, and heritage as well as the creative industries
  • Commission a review of opportunities for investment in culture, the arts and sport, to inform a progressive increase in arts, culture and sport spending, tied to a wider shift to preventative health and wellbeing activity across government
  • Establish a cross-sector Creative and Culture Forum with an initial remit to collect evidence and identify actions to ensure fair pay and improved working conditions in the sector
  • Publish plans and a timeline to establish a Shadow Broadcasting and Communications Authority for Wales, to protect and strengthen local and national public service media platforms in Wales

Lifelong Sport and Physical Activity

  • Establish a dedicated workstream within government to identify opportunities for increased levels of engagement in sport and physical activity, and consult on how to strengthen partnership working between health services and sports organisations
  • Commission an audit of community and regional sporting facilities and engage with key partners, including national governing bodies, to inform targeted capital investment over the government term
  • Publish an implementation plan for a new national School Swimming and Water Safety programme

Welsh Language: Early years and education

  • Work with partners, including Mudiad Meithrin, the childcare expert group and childcare taskforce, to identify opportunities for the expansion of Welsh medium childcare across Wales, as a key part of the delivery of our universal childcare offer
  • Undertake a rapid review of Welsh in Education Strategic Plans and Welsh in Education Delivery Plans to inform local targets to ensure the steady growth of Welsh-medium education in all schools, progressively moving schools along the language continuum. We will also take immediate steps to improve accessibility to Welsh medium education, beginning with a review of the Learner Travel Measure and commission an assessment of ALN provision in Welsh medium education, to include the structure of current support and training for teachers and school support staff
  • Work with tertiary education providers to identify opportunities to increase the proportion of funding provided for Welsh-medium education and training, with particular attention to apprenticeships

Strengthening Welsh as a community language

  • Begin the process of legislating for new protections for areas of higher linguistic density, as recommended by the Commission for Welsh Speaking Communities, working with local authorities to determine how and where these areas should be designated. We will also engage with work of the Commission on areas with medium and lower densities of Welsh speakers

Welsh Language Standards

  • Commence work to extend Welsh Language Standards to UK Government bodies and services operating in Wales, to include communications, utilities, banks, car parks and supermarkets