A £4.4m annual top-up has been announced for Wales’ arts and culture sector after warnings it was in crisis.

The Welsh government’s culture minister, Jack Sargeant, said the extra cash was an 8.5% increase for day-to-day spending.

Earlier this month, the Senedd’s culture committee raised concerns over whether Sargeant appreciated the pressure the sector was under.

The minister said the money would support “cherished” cultural bodies.

The Arts Council for Wales has welcomed the money, saying the minister had listened to their concerns and given a “positive signal”.

The funding in the Welsh government’s 2025-26 draft budget is on top of extra money announced earlier this year.

But the arts have previously endured cuts – the budget documents say this helps restore 2023-24 levels.

Sargeant said: “We are under no illusions about the challenges faced by many of our museums, theatres and cultural spaces, and this budget is a significant step forward from the position we were in last year, providing a real opportunity to move towards a more secure, sustainable footing and to continue that into the future.”

This month the minister denied the sector was in crisis following criticism from arts organisations and the Welsh Parliament’s culture committee.

The Arts Council of Wales said the money helped address a 10.5% cut announced by the Welsh government last year.

Chief executive Dafydd Rhys said: “This is a positive signal for the sector that the arts are valued by government, and we look forward to building on this baseline funding level in future years.

“We are currently looking in detail at our annual budget to see how we can best support the sector with the proposed new level of funding.”