Covid-19: Museums, Galleries and Historic Buildings

Lord Liddle Excerpts

Thursday 21st May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Liddle (Lab)]

My Lords, this debate goes to the heart of what we are as a country. The arts and cultural heritage sectors are in a deep existential crisis, and something has to be done. It is important to recognise that this crisis will not end with the end of lockdown. It will continue because of the need for social distancing, which has such a devastating impact on the commercial revenues of galleries and heritage sites. My particular concern is local museums such as the Tullie House Museum in my native Carlisle, of which my wife is a trustee, which depend for their core income on local authority grants. My proposal is that the Government give serious consideration to a ring-fenced grant to local authorities to sustain the cultural institutions that are at the heart of our local communities.