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<p>It is important that people across the country have access to a diverse range of
cultural opportunities. Arts and cultural bodies receive funding through a wide variety
of sources, including through Arts Council England, an arm’s-length body of the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport.</p><p>The Welsh National Opera will receive £4 million
of public funding through Arts Council England’s 2023–26 Investment Programme, and
was also successful in its application to the Arts Council’s ‘Transform Programme’
through which it will receive an additional one-off payment of £3.25 million. This
means the Welsh National Opera will receive over £15 million of public funding between
2023 and 2026.</p><p>The decisions about which organisations to fund, and by how much,
is a decision taken wholly by Arts Council England independently of HM Government.
This is in accordance with the well established process, which is published on the
Arts Council’s website and made clear in the guidance for applicants. How the Welsh
National Opera chooses to spend its grant funding with respect to staffing, touring,
and community work are matters for the organisation itself.</p><p>Cultural organisations
such as the Welsh National Opera are also benefiting from the two-year extension to
the higher rates of theatre, orchestra, museums and galleries exhibition tax reliefs
announced at the last Budget. This extension will continue to offset ongoing pressures
and boost investment in our cultural sectors. They will incentivise investment in
productions in the UK, support them to tour, drive economic growth, and allow the
sector to maintain its international competitiveness and reputation.</p>
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