A lobby of archaeologists and politicians is calling for the responsibility for the running of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) to be taken over by the British Museum.
More than 120 MPs have signed an early-day motion expressing concern at proposed funding cuts and calling for the government to:
"Consider urgently whether the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) offers the best home for PAS or whether another body, such as the British Museum, would not be better placed to provide PAS with a long-term, sustainable future."
The scheme, which encourages the recording of archaeological finds, is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), via the MLA, and administrated by the British Museum.
The funding issue emerged when the DCMS failed to ring- fence the scheme's budget when allocating the total MLA budget in the Comprehensive Spending Review. As a result, from April, the scheme's budget will be frozen, with the loss of five of the 50 posts.
The MLA has said it will review funding of the scheme for 2009-11, and a report is expected by the summer. But there are concerns that the scheme will be integrated into Renaissance in the Regions, with a loss of funding.
Mike Hayworth, director of the British Council for Archaeology, said: "It is key that it retains the current level of national coordination and activity. If it is submerged into Renaissance in the Regions, it could lose its national coherence and become a patchwork of provision."
Hayworth added that the transfer of the scheme to the British Museum would be a good thing if it meant it retained its national remit.
Andrew Burnett, deputy director of the British Museum, said: "The British Museum attaches a great deal of importance to finding a solution to the difficult position regarding funding."
Tim Schadla-Hall, a reader in public archaeology at University College London, told Museums Journal that it would be "lunatic" for the scheme to be cut. "Here is a scheme that is proven to work; it's phenomenally cheap; it benefits museums and it benefits the public as a whole."
More than 120 MPs have signed an early-day motion expressing concern at proposed funding cuts and calling for the government to:
"Consider urgently whether the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) offers the best home for PAS or whether another body, such as the British Museum, would not be better placed to provide PAS with a long-term, sustainable future."
The scheme, which encourages the recording of archaeological finds, is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), via the MLA, and administrated by the British Museum.
The funding issue emerged when the DCMS failed to ring- fence the scheme's budget when allocating the total MLA budget in the Comprehensive Spending Review. As a result, from April, the scheme's budget will be frozen, with the loss of five of the 50 posts.
The MLA has said it will review funding of the scheme for 2009-11, and a report is expected by the summer. But there are concerns that the scheme will be integrated into Renaissance in the Regions, with a loss of funding.
Mike Hayworth, director of the British Council for Archaeology, said: "It is key that it retains the current level of national coordination and activity. If it is submerged into Renaissance in the Regions, it could lose its national coherence and become a patchwork of provision."
Hayworth added that the transfer of the scheme to the British Museum would be a good thing if it meant it retained its national remit.
Andrew Burnett, deputy director of the British Museum, said: "The British Museum attaches a great deal of importance to finding a solution to the difficult position regarding funding."
Tim Schadla-Hall, a reader in public archaeology at University College London, told Museums Journal that it would be "lunatic" for the scheme to be cut. "Here is a scheme that is proven to work; it's phenomenally cheap; it benefits museums and it benefits the public as a whole."