(Title Image: BBC Wales)
Welsh Government steps in with £17.7million support for spectator sports
The Welsh Government has announced a £17.7million support package for key spectator sports, with the bulk of the funding (£13.5million) going to rugby union. £1.5million will be provided to football – just a little more than horse racing (£1.2million) and cricket (£1million).
A combined £500,000 will be shared between ice hockey, rugby league and netball.
The funding will be used to compensate clubs for the absence, and unlikely return, of spectators for the foreseeable future.
Deputy Minister for Culture, Tourism & Sport, Dafydd Elis-Thomas (Ind, Dwyfor Meirionnydd) said: “I know this money will provide some stability to those sports worst affected by the loss of revenue during the pandemic, helping to bridge the financial gap until spectators are able to return safely.”
National Library faces questions over its future
A petition has been launched and questions raised about the long-term sustainability of the National Library in Aberystwyth following the proposed loss of 30 jobs.
Chief Executive, Pedr ap Llwyd, blamed successive years of under-funding by the Welsh Government. The Welsh Government currently provides around £11.8million in grant funding, but this has decreased over several years and has been frozen.
A petition to the Senedd calling for “fair funding” for the library has received more than 11,000 signatures as of posting.
Flood support grants extended following Storm Cristoph
Households affected by serious flooding as a result of the recent Storm Cristoph will be eligible for up to £1,000 in Welsh Government support grants in line with that provided to flood victims during 2020.
In Skewen, Neath Port Talbot, a catastrophic “blow-out” of a historic mine shaft resulted in the evacuation of 80 residents, who may not be able to return to their homes for several months.
The Coal Authority has begun emergency engineering works to cap the mine, which they said could take three months while a long-term solution is found to divert mine water.
All of Wales to become a “nitrogen vulnerable zone”
The Welsh Government has announced that all of Wales will be covered by regulations designed to address pollution caused by agricultural run-off.
The regulations will mean all farmers will be responsible for run-off and being aware of their duties and responsibilities to prevent water pollution.
Llyr Gruffydd MS (Plaid, North Wales) described the announcement as a “betrayal” and a “final breakdown in the relationship between farmers and the Welsh Government”.
Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives have previously raised concerns about the potential impact of overly-strict regulations on the viability of farms, as well as the occasionally unavoidable nature of run-off.
