This is such a wide open prompt, that I’m going to set some parameters to it before I start to answer. In the first instance, I’m assuming that this is money that I have responsibility for distributing for the wider good, rather than $1bn that I can simply spend on personal luxuries and setting up my family. Secondly, I’m going to place a geographical restriction on where the money can be spent, and I’m going to assume that it has to be allocated to projects that will directly benefit the people of Wales. And finally, I’m going to assume that it all has to be allocated and spent within 36 months (thus ruling out the prospect of setting up an investment fund and simply allocating the profits annually).
So having set the rules, what would I spend the money on? I’d allocate $100m to match-fund investment by the Football Association of Wales and the Welsh Rugby Union in artificial playing surfaces for football and rugby in communities across all local authority areas in the country. Climate change leading to wetter winters, and financial constraints on local councils reducing funding for maintenance of grass pitches, means that local sports facilities are deteriorating rapidly, reducing participation and enjoyment at all ages, but particularly for young people. The health and wellbeing advantages of regular engagement in team sports (especially for children and young adults) is well documented, and this investment would create facilities that would be self-sustaining (through reasonable usage fees) for generations to come. Alongside the $100m for pitches, I’d allocate a further $100m to allow junior community sports teams to bid for new equipment, kit and the costs of training volunteers as coaches, referees, safeguarding officers and all the other skills necessary to run a safe and successful club to deliver junior sport.
I’d allocate $200m in total to a capital renovations fund for public or community owned arts venues to bid into, to complete repairs and enhancements to venues supporting theatre, cinema, dance and wider performing arts activities. This would recognise the backlog of repairs and maintenance that has developed in so many of the venues that allow local people access to perform in and enjoy arts-based activities. A further $50m would be available to community-arts organisations for capacity building along similar lines to the sports funding outlined in the previous paragraph.
Having targeted sport and the arts, my next priority would be community assets : whether welfare halls, social clubs or abandoned public houses. An allocation of $200m would be available to match-fund capital investment into facilities that have closed or at risk of closing, and that can be transferred or reinstated to community ownership on a co-operative basis (that is, with any profits from operations ploughed back into the asset and its community for the long term). This is really about community cohesion, recognising that places where people can come together socially play an integral role as the glue that binds people together in a sense of place. Often, these facilities are unviable in a strict commercial sense, but their non-financial benefits are immense (and can also indirectly create a sense of local pride and interest that does positively rub-off in terms of other local businesses). Again, $50m would be made available to train volunteers to be part of the teams running and managing the assets; and also to cover the legal and other set-up costs of co-operative societies to act as the owners of the assets.
Which leaves $300m to be allocated (still an awful lot of money!). This would be targeted on education and skills – supporting individuals to engage in formal and vocational education and skills training, as well as providing seed-corn funding for new business development. This would be in addition to existing government funding and would recognise the simple fact that grants and loans to individuals have not kept pace with increases in the costs of living and that inadequate financial support is now a substantial barrier facing those who would otherwise like to train or re-train in the skills and competences demanded by employers.
Sport, culture, community cohesion, skills and education – the key focuses of action that leads to improved health and wellbeing. $1 billion well spent, I think.