Entry fees at heritage sites for under 16s and over 60s waived by the Welsh government in 2008 is at risk of being unlawful. Although the Welsh government said the scheme is no longer in operation. The Welsh ministers were advised of the legal point that if the policy was challenged, it might be declared unlawful. The former government of the Labour -Plaid Cymru coalition had introduced the free-entry policy and it lasted till 2011. The policy allowed free entry to sites run by Cadw, Wales’s historic monuments agency, to Welsh residents who were under-16 and over-60 of age. The European Union has a principle that no citizen or student of the European Union be legally treated differently to citizens of the host country belonging to EU.
The Welsh government stated this policy was not operational any more and it did not have any ‘direct impact’ on any such other policies offered to the residents of Wales, such as support for students and free bus passes. After First Minister Carwyn Jones made a review of the free-entry scheme in July 2010, officials revealed that it hadn’t been able to achieve its aim of widening access. Later in March 2011 the scheme was dropped. Cadw advised that extending the free entry scheme will result in a revenue loss of about £1.5 million.
