Museums and Galleries

Earl of Clancarty Excerpts

Thursday 23rd May 2019 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

It is a dynamic sector. The noble Lord will know that there are over 3,000 museums in the UK, and there has been a net growth of 9%. That is very good news, although some museums have closed, so we constantly keep an eye on what goes on. It is very important to maintain access. The point should be made that 48% of visitors come from overseas. It is critical that we make sure that there is access for overseas visitors just as much as there is for domestic visitors, including from the education sector.

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, the local authority museums urgently need better funding. A collection has been lost in Hertford, for example, and there has been a loss of curators at Leicester’s important city museums. The next spending review must take these things into account.

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

I have no doubt that the spending review will look closely at the museum sector. It usually does, but I cannot comment otherwise on that. It is also important for local authorities to feel that they are able to explore new funding and service delivery models. As I said earlier, the Government believe that funding decisions should be made at the local level. Local authorities are best placed to decide how to prioritise their spending, as each individual museum has its own particular issues.