Museums

Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts

Monday 10th June 2019 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

We acknowledge and applaud the amount of private funding that goes to museums and we very much want that to continue. The noble Baroness alluded to certain high-profile issues, particularly one that was in the news this morning. The Government are very appreciative of BP’s long-standing support for the arts; its preferred model of long-term partnerships is especially valuable to cultural institutions. To answer the question, the funding of museums has to be a collaboration, led, we hope, locally by local authorities and private funding.

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB)]

My Lords, our museums are treasure houses of artefacts from around the world. Does the Minister agree that it would enhance understanding and appreciation if the items were better labelled to show how they were—how can I put this kindly—acquired from around the world?

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

The noble Lord is right. I think most museums have moved on from displaying items in glass cases, which perhaps are not especially helpful, particularly to schoolchildren. It is important for museums to optimise their visitor numbers by displaying items in the most interactive way and thinking about what they are doing in running their businesses.