Lord Storey
Main Page: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)Museums and Galleries
Lord Storey Excerpts
Baroness Rawlings
Yes, the noble Lord is absolutely right. Seven out of the top 10 UK visitor and tourist attractions are free, DCMS-sponsored national museums. Since the introduction of free admission in 2001 that he mentioned, visits to museums which previously had charged increased by 128 per cent, rising from 7.2 million to 16.3 million in 2009-10.
Lord Storey
My noble friend will be aware of the huge importance of museums to our heritage, tourism and economy. She will also be aware that some museums have unique national collections but are not designated national museums. The director of National Museums Liverpool, which the noble Baroness, Lady Hooper, alluded to, has called on the Government to consider developing a museum strategy. Will the Government consider that?
Baroness Rawlings
My noble friend is absolutely right. The Government are considering and looking into various different ways, covering not only ideas but other incentives.