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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the National Media Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal Photographic Society, Bradford City Council, and any other relevant bodies, about the move of 400,000 items from Bradford to London; and whether they have offered any advice on that matter.

DCMS museums operate at arm’s length from government and the transfer of objects between national museums is a matter for the boards of the museums. The transfer of part of the Royal Photographic Society’s collection has been carefully considered by the Trustees of the Science Museum, who approved the transfer of the objects to the V&A, with the Royal Photographic Society also approving the transfer. The Department was informed of this in December 2015. Bradford City Council was regularly consulted while the matter was under consideration.

The National Media Museum took this decision in order to focus its offering more effectively, while ensuring that the Royal Photographic Collection is preserved.The V&A intend to store, digitise and make the photographic collection available as part of its planned International Photography Resource Centre, which will provide the public with a world-class facility to access the consolidated collection.