Today the National Audit Office (NAO) reports that the Department
for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) does not collect
enough information to work out the funding required to address the
long-term maintenance backlog for the museums and galleries (the
museums) it sponsors.1
The NAO has found that grant funding for museums from
DCMS fell by 20% in real terms between 2010-11 and 2018-19, and
museums find it difficult to secure other funding for estate
maintenance. DCMS has secured additional funding for museums’
critical maintenance needs, however, this has not been enough to
cover the amounts the museums have requested for repairs to their
estates.
In common with other areas of the public sector, the
postponement of the planned 2019 spending review has left museums
uncertain about the capital funding they will receive after
2020-21 and has restricted their ability to plan
effectively. In its March 2020 Budget, the
government announced additional funding of £27 million for
critical maintenance work on museums’ estates in 2020-21. It also
committed to further action to address the maintenance challenges
in its next Spending Review.
This investigation sets out the facts about the
maintenance of the museums, which include seven of the 10
most-visited, free attractions in England in
2018.
Read the NAO report for more information
about:
-
Oversight arrangements for the museums and
galleries;
-
Understanding of museums’ maintenance issues;
and
-
Funding the maintenance of the
estate.
- ENDS
-
Notes for
Editors
-
The 15 museums and galleries are: British Museum;
Geffrye Museum; Horniman Museum; Imperial War Museum; National
Gallery; Natural History Museum; National Museums Liverpool;
National Portrait Gallery; Royal Armouries; Royal Museums
Greenwich; Science Museum Group; Sir John Soane's Museum; Tate
Gallery; Victoria and Albert Museum; Wallace
Collection.
