Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans the Government has to publish guidelines on the ventilation of galleries, museums and other cultural venues open to the public ahead of their reopening as covid-19 restrictions ease.

Public Health England has published guidance on the ventilation of indoor spaces which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-ventilation-of-indoor-spaces-to-stop-the-spread-of-coronavirus/ventilation-of-indoor-spaces-to-stop-the-spread-of-coronavirus-covid-19

The Health and Safety Executive has published guidance on ventilation and air conditioning here:

https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation/index.htm

There are no plans for the Government to publish separate guidelines on ventilation of galleries and museums and other cultural venues; however, such venues are advised to have due regard to the the published guidance together with the Art Council England’s Government Indemnity Scheme advice, which can be found here: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/protecting-cultural-objects/government-indemnity-scheme#section-1

Good practice guidance for reopening museums published by the National Museum Directors’ Council with support from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport can be found here:

https://www.nationalmuseums.org.uk/coronavirus-update/nmdc-good-practice-guidelines-opening-museums/