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

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce a code of conduct to ensure that the remuneration provided to artists engaged by UK National Museums and Galleries meets or exceeds the national minimum living wage.

Creative and cultural practitioners are vital to the work of our museums and galleries: they bring independent visions and ideas, and offer highly developed specialist skills to the work of these institutions.

As the national museums and galleries operate at arm’s length from His Majesty's Government, the Department does not monitor payments made to artists or any other people working as contractors or freelancers at them.

While the Government has no plans to introduce a code of conduct, Arts Council England — the publicly-funded development agency for the arts and museums — has produced guidance outlining best practice for working with freelancers, without whom so much of the creative and cultural sectors could not operate. This is complemented by guidance from sector organisations such as the Museums Association.