Plaid Cymru pledge to set up ‘Freelancers Fund’ to secure post-Covid cultural recovery

Plaid Cymru has pledged to help the arts sector to emerge from the pandemic with a Welsh Freelancers Fund.

Senedd Election candidate for Arfon, Sian Gwenllian, has set out plans for how a Plaid government would create the Freelancers Fund would support 1,000 freelance workers.

They would work within the community and in schools, backed by a basic income of £1,000 a month for two years.

The Plaid candidate for Arfon added that this would form part of a wider Arts and Culture Strategy designed to require every department of government to give consideration to cultural matters when forming public policy.

Sian Gwenllian said: “Individual artists and freelancers are a vital component of the cultural sector – writers, artists, musicians, set designers, to name just a few.

“Often, they are people who make a key contribution to cultural activity at the community level and have borne the brunt of the closures brought about by the pandemic.

‘Cultural deficit’ 

She added: “We have all been conscious of the cultural deficit in our lives over the past year – whether missing the football pitch, the concert hall, theatre or festival.

“As the situation improves and creative spaces open up once again, this will inevitably assist freelance workers to get back on their feet, but a Plaid Cymru Government would want to reward their contribution with a guaranteed basic income.

“Plaid Cymru’s Freelancers Fund would support 1,000 freelance workers to work within the community and in schools, backed by a basic income of £1,000 a month for two years.

“This would not only assist the sector it would also prove beneficial on a community and educational level where culture and the arts offer solace and stimulation, especially for those experiencing mental health challenges.

“It would form part of our wider inclusive Arts and Culture Strategy where every department of government would be required to make cultural considerations when forming public policy.

“Culture has always been at the heart of the Welsh nation and with Plaid Cymru at the helm, it would be at the heart of government too.”