Welsh museums could charge entry for first time under Labour

Free tourist attractions in Wales could charge entry fees for the first time after the Labour-run Welsh government slashed arts funding.

Top cultural sites including the National Museum Cardiff, Big Pit National Coal Museum, National Slate Museum, National Wool Museum and St Fagans National Museum of History are currently free to enter.

But Welsh ministers have suggested charging visitors for the first time after cutting arts budgets by 10.5pc this year. The Arts Council was due to receive around £ 33.9m for the 2024- 25 period but has instead been given £30.4m, the lowest amount allocated by the Government since 2007-08.

It would draw a dividing line with England. In London, many museums are free. Dawn Bowden, the deputy culture minister, told a committee that public bodies, including the National Museum Wales and National Library, should think about how to raise funds.

She said: “The National Museum really has been one of the jewels in the crown in terms of free access to museum sites and it is not something that we would be considering or asking the museum to look at or consider it was not in a critical situation and the budget situation was such that this was an option that had to be on the table.

“What I have said and what I would maintain is that if we get to a point where we have to introduce any charging, that there has to be equity in that.

“It is not anywhere that I want to be but frankly, the scale of the challenges that we’re facing means that we have to explore everything. Charging is not something I’m happy with, and if it has to be introduced, it has to be done in a way that those least able to afford, are not excluded.”

The Welsh government admitted that cuts to arts and culture would likely “impact individual and community participation and engagement with culture and the arts and will impact engagement with children and young people”.

The Conservative shadow minister for tourism, Tom Giffard, said: “Labour has consistently failed to support the cultural sector. Entry fees must be the last resort because they will impact attendance at sites across Wales.” James Fitzgerald

Funding blow The government allocation for the Arts Council for 2024-25, down by around 10pc