Head to head
Trust status or not trust status - that is the question
Ann Sumner is the director of the new Birmingham Museums Trust and John Roles is the head of Leeds Museums
Dear John
Things are going really well here and we’ve had a very successful launch of our trust over the summer. We are responsible for the museum and art gallery, historic house sites including Aston Hall and Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum.
We announced our new trustees in July and Birmingham City Council, Arts Council England, our friends and staff have been very positive about our move to trust status. The leader of the council, Albert Bore, has called a Birmingham Arts and Culture Summit on 18-19 October, which is a huge opportunity for us all in the region. Any thoughts that you might reconsider going to trust status?
Best wishes, Ann
Dear Ann
We aren’t considering trust status at present. Leeds has seen a period of unprecedented growth. Support from the lottery and Renaissance encouraged additional council support with the result that we have seen our visitors rise by 240% over the past decade, we have raised more than £40m and we can boast that 99% of the city’s schools have used our services in the past three years.
This success is more about the quality and commitment of our staff, effective leadership at all levels, strong advocacy, imaginative partnerships and embedding a less risk averse culture than governance models.
Best wishes, John
Dear John
Leeds has been a successful under your leadership. And you are right about govenance – I’ve undertaken a benchmarking exercise since taking up post and it is clear that there is no “one size fits all” across the UK.
Our two families of museums are similar in many ways (for instance we both have major historic houses within our portfolios) and yet clearly we flourish with very differing governance models! Equally, Bath and York are interesting. While York has successfully gone to trust status, Bath opted not to do so. Both are thriving.
Best wishes Ann
Dear Ann
I don’t doubt trusts are the way forward if you are large enough, financially well-supported, with well-maintained building stock and have a long-term funding arrangement freeing you from the deadweight of central corporate services.
But it is simply not an option for most local authority services where one or two museums are not viable as standalone trusts. Their only option would be being submerged in a large leisure trust that would be unlikely to be better than being part of the local authority. Staff having less good conditions of service than in local government may be appealing but whether morally right is another question.
Best wishes John
Dear John
Trust status is clearly the right way forward for us in Birmingham. We believe that it brings greatly improved opportunities for fundraising, income generation and creating a clear corporate identity.
We hope to be a model for others – and it is clear that many other services are considering trust status and consulting us in the process. Our new trustees are very active in networking on our behalf to help us to raise our profile and ensure that our trust is at the heart of future urban regeneration in the city, as well as providing leadership in the region.
Best wishes Ann
Dear Ann
My issue is the prevailing assumption that trusts are good and local authority control bad. Being run by a local authority does not mean you cannot be innovative, entrepreneurial, generate income or play a role in urban regeneration.
It does not mean you cannot provide brilliant learning and community programmes, excellent exhibitions and provide quality visitor attractions. Being a trust does not mean you are immune from the current funding squeeze. The highly successful York Museums Trust recently lost a third of their local authority support. Trust status is not a panacea.
Best wishes, John
Dear John
Things are going really well here and we’ve had a very successful launch of our trust over the summer. We are responsible for the museum and art gallery, historic house sites including Aston Hall and Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum.
We announced our new trustees in July and Birmingham City Council, Arts Council England, our friends and staff have been very positive about our move to trust status. The leader of the council, Albert Bore, has called a Birmingham Arts and Culture Summit on 18-19 October, which is a huge opportunity for us all in the region. Any thoughts that you might reconsider going to trust status?
Best wishes, Ann
Dear Ann
We aren’t considering trust status at present. Leeds has seen a period of unprecedented growth. Support from the lottery and Renaissance encouraged additional council support with the result that we have seen our visitors rise by 240% over the past decade, we have raised more than £40m and we can boast that 99% of the city’s schools have used our services in the past three years.
This success is more about the quality and commitment of our staff, effective leadership at all levels, strong advocacy, imaginative partnerships and embedding a less risk averse culture than governance models.
Best wishes, John
Dear John
Leeds has been a successful under your leadership. And you are right about govenance – I’ve undertaken a benchmarking exercise since taking up post and it is clear that there is no “one size fits all” across the UK.
Our two families of museums are similar in many ways (for instance we both have major historic houses within our portfolios) and yet clearly we flourish with very differing governance models! Equally, Bath and York are interesting. While York has successfully gone to trust status, Bath opted not to do so. Both are thriving.
Best wishes Ann
Dear Ann
I don’t doubt trusts are the way forward if you are large enough, financially well-supported, with well-maintained building stock and have a long-term funding arrangement freeing you from the deadweight of central corporate services.
But it is simply not an option for most local authority services where one or two museums are not viable as standalone trusts. Their only option would be being submerged in a large leisure trust that would be unlikely to be better than being part of the local authority. Staff having less good conditions of service than in local government may be appealing but whether morally right is another question.
Best wishes John
Dear John
Trust status is clearly the right way forward for us in Birmingham. We believe that it brings greatly improved opportunities for fundraising, income generation and creating a clear corporate identity.
We hope to be a model for others – and it is clear that many other services are considering trust status and consulting us in the process. Our new trustees are very active in networking on our behalf to help us to raise our profile and ensure that our trust is at the heart of future urban regeneration in the city, as well as providing leadership in the region.
Best wishes Ann
Dear Ann
My issue is the prevailing assumption that trusts are good and local authority control bad. Being run by a local authority does not mean you cannot be innovative, entrepreneurial, generate income or play a role in urban regeneration.
It does not mean you cannot provide brilliant learning and community programmes, excellent exhibitions and provide quality visitor attractions. Being a trust does not mean you are immune from the current funding squeeze. The highly successful York Museums Trust recently lost a third of their local authority support. Trust status is not a panacea.
Best wishes, John