The city is a lead partner in the Renaissance in the Regions hub but an ongoing restructure at the council has already seen the loss of the assistant director of cultural strategy and services post. Ian Lawley, who held the post, took voluntary redundancy at the end of March, and other job losses are expected.
Jon Finch, the chief executive of Museums, Libraries and Archives West Midlands, told Museums Journal that the regional agency was monitoring the situation very closely. 'We need to make sure that Stoke is fully aware that major cuts to the museum service will impact on Renaissance funding,' Finch said.
It is not yet clear how many posts will be lost at the museum service but it is understood that at least three jobs have already gone and speculation has put the number of posts under threat as high as 14.
Finch said that the loss of that many posts would have an impact on delivery and call into question Renaissance funding. 'Perhaps when it becomes clear to Stoke that major cuts might mean losing external funding that will have an impact on the decisions it makes.'
Alison Hems, the Renaissance manager at the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), said that Renaissance funding had always been dependent on governing bodies maintaining a level of core funding. 'We are in dialogue with Stoke about the implications for Renaissance of the proposed restructure.'
Mark Taylor, the director of the Museums Association, said that MLA should come down hard on the city council if Renaissance money was being used to cover up cuts in the museum service's core budget.
'It's really really important otherwise you'll end up with a doughnut with hub-funded posts around the outside but no core posts in the middle.' He added that if the council went ahead with substantial cuts, MLA should take away hub status as a warning to other local authorities in receipt of Renaissance cash.
As part of a phase one hub, Stoke has already received more than £2.5m of funding from Renaissance, and there are 15 Renaissance-funded posts in the museum service according to the hub's 2006-08 business plan.
Pamela Mallalieu, the museum manager at the Potteries Museum, said there were mixed feelings among staff about the future. 'The uncertainty has caused a degree of anxiety but it has coincided with the regeneration of the city centre, which the Potteries Museum is at the heart of.'
The city council was facing a £20m budget deficit over the next two decades although this figure has been reduced because of the voluntary redundancies programme. A spokesman for the council said that Stoke had a very good record in museums and the number of voluntary redundancies at the mu-seums was below the level for the rest of the service.
A recent Audit Commission Comprehensive Performance Assessment named Stoke as one of the five worst major councils in the country. It was deemed to be not improving adequately since its last assessment and was given only two stars out of a possible four for culture.
Sharon Heal
Jon Finch, the chief executive of Museums, Libraries and Archives West Midlands, told Museums Journal that the regional agency was monitoring the situation very closely. 'We need to make sure that Stoke is fully aware that major cuts to the museum service will impact on Renaissance funding,' Finch said.
It is not yet clear how many posts will be lost at the museum service but it is understood that at least three jobs have already gone and speculation has put the number of posts under threat as high as 14.
Finch said that the loss of that many posts would have an impact on delivery and call into question Renaissance funding. 'Perhaps when it becomes clear to Stoke that major cuts might mean losing external funding that will have an impact on the decisions it makes.'
Alison Hems, the Renaissance manager at the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), said that Renaissance funding had always been dependent on governing bodies maintaining a level of core funding. 'We are in dialogue with Stoke about the implications for Renaissance of the proposed restructure.'
Mark Taylor, the director of the Museums Association, said that MLA should come down hard on the city council if Renaissance money was being used to cover up cuts in the museum service's core budget.
'It's really really important otherwise you'll end up with a doughnut with hub-funded posts around the outside but no core posts in the middle.' He added that if the council went ahead with substantial cuts, MLA should take away hub status as a warning to other local authorities in receipt of Renaissance cash.
As part of a phase one hub, Stoke has already received more than £2.5m of funding from Renaissance, and there are 15 Renaissance-funded posts in the museum service according to the hub's 2006-08 business plan.
Pamela Mallalieu, the museum manager at the Potteries Museum, said there were mixed feelings among staff about the future. 'The uncertainty has caused a degree of anxiety but it has coincided with the regeneration of the city centre, which the Potteries Museum is at the heart of.'
The city council was facing a £20m budget deficit over the next two decades although this figure has been reduced because of the voluntary redundancies programme. A spokesman for the council said that Stoke had a very good record in museums and the number of voluntary redundancies at the mu-seums was below the level for the rest of the service.
A recent Audit Commission Comprehensive Performance Assessment named Stoke as one of the five worst major councils in the country. It was deemed to be not improving adequately since its last assessment and was given only two stars out of a possible four for culture.
Sharon Heal
