Museums and Galleries: Admission Charges for Non-UK Residents

Baroness Bull Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

There are an awful lot of hypotheticals in this debate. I go back to my initial point that this Government do not currently have any plans to charge for entry to museums and galleries that are currently classed as the 50 national museums covered by the Labour Government scheme from 2001.

[Baroness Bull (CB)]

The UK’s cultural and heritage assets are indeed a massive driver of inbound tourism. As the noble Lord, Lord Addington, pointed out, there is spillover spend not just in the museums but in the accommodation and hospitality that these tourists need. However, we know, and a DCMS Select Committee report from the other place in 2022 revealed, that a lot of that tourism is focused on London, whereas the entire UK has an enormous amount of cultural heritage that could be shared. What are the Government doing to work with VisitBritain and others to raise awareness of and promote venues and opportunities around the UK?

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

Funding for national museums supports museums and sites across London. The noble Baroness is correct that a large number of these museums are in London, but we do have national museum sites in Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford, York and St Ives. The Government have announced a new £20 million museum renewal fund, in addition to the more than £44 million a year that Arts Council England currently invests in museums. As the noble Baroness is aware, there is an ongoing review of Arts Council England, led by my noble friend Lady Hodge.