It is likely that the Museum in Docklands' name will change next year as part of a rebranding exercise by the Museum of London Group.
According to a spokes-woman for the group, the name change and new brand will be timed to coincide with the handover of the running of the Museum of London, the docklands museum and the archaeology service to the Greater London Authority (GLA), planned for April 2008.
At the moment the group is jointly funded by the City of London and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Under the proposed new arrangement the DCMS funding would transfer to the department for Communities and Local Government and would be administered by the GLA.
But there are still several issues to resolve before the handover. Jack Lohman, the director of the group, said he wants to transfer "a healthy museum group" and that issues of equal pay and the fact that the two main sites operate as two separate bodies needed to be resolved first.
Currently the two sites have different staff terms and conditions and even their charitable status differs. "It's not very efficient. We need to amalgamate but it all depends on the outcome of the comprehensive spending review. I will be urging the new minister to attend to this - we want a dowry from DCMS," said Lohman.
Representatives from the museum group, the DCMS, the City of London and the GLA will meet at the end of the month to discuss the transfer further.
Sharon Heal
According to a spokes-woman for the group, the name change and new brand will be timed to coincide with the handover of the running of the Museum of London, the docklands museum and the archaeology service to the Greater London Authority (GLA), planned for April 2008.
At the moment the group is jointly funded by the City of London and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Under the proposed new arrangement the DCMS funding would transfer to the department for Communities and Local Government and would be administered by the GLA.
But there are still several issues to resolve before the handover. Jack Lohman, the director of the group, said he wants to transfer "a healthy museum group" and that issues of equal pay and the fact that the two main sites operate as two separate bodies needed to be resolved first.
Currently the two sites have different staff terms and conditions and even their charitable status differs. "It's not very efficient. We need to amalgamate but it all depends on the outcome of the comprehensive spending review. I will be urging the new minister to attend to this - we want a dowry from DCMS," said Lohman.
Representatives from the museum group, the DCMS, the City of London and the GLA will meet at the end of the month to discuss the transfer further.
Sharon Heal
