Jack Sargeant MS, Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
In May 2025, I launched the Priorities for Culture – an ambitious and collaborative vision for the future of culture in Wales.
As part of this, I made a clear commitment to develop a new funding programme that would strengthen our support for the local sector, with a particular focus on Museums, Archives and Libraries.
To drive this forward, in the first year I have committed to delivering on five ambitions crucial to building a thriving, inclusive and resilient cultural landscape in Wales:
- A1: Culture is inclusive, accessible and diverse.
- A4: Culture reflects the needs and aspirations of children and young people and strengthens the connection between generations.
- A11: Our intangible cultural heritage is recorded and supported to thrive.
- A15: The culture sector is a great place to work and volunteer, with a professional and skilled workforce.
- A16: The culture sector demonstrates leadership and collaboration in its approaches to sustainable development, building resilience, and tackling the climate and nature emergencies.
Today, I am pleased to announce the launch of a new revenue grant scheme: Enhanced Local Sector Support for Museums, Archives & Libraries. The scheme will provide vital revenue funding to eligible organisations, helping them to build capacity and deliver on the ambitions outlined above, as well as contributing to the well-being goals and other Government commitments.
We are investing just over £2m across the financial years 2025-26 and 2026-27. This new programme complements our existing initiatives including the Transformation Capital Grants Programme and represents a significant step forward in supporting our local sector with revenue funding.
We are actively encouraging local authorities and cultural trusts to work in partnership to put forward collaborative bids. By pooling expertise, resources and local knowledge, these partnerships can deliver more impactful and sustainable outcomes for communities across Wales.
The grant application window is open until 10am on Monday, 29 September 2025.
This statement is being issued during recess to keep Members informed. Should Members wish me to make a further statement or to answer questions on this when the Senedd returns I would be happy to do so.