Health minister Ben Bradshaw has been appointed secretary of state for culture, media and sport following Gordon Brown's cabinet reshuffle last month.
Bradshaw, a former BBC journalist and the MP for Exeter, replaces Andy Burnham, who was named as secretary of state for health. Burnham had been in the Department for Culture Media and Sport post since January 2008.
Bradshaw's appointment comes as the debate over the government's policy of free admission to museums intensifies (see link below). Charges were scrapped in 2001, and in 2007 the government pledged free access to national museums until 2011.
But a Treasury requirement that £5bn in savings be found across all government departments by 2011 has raised fears that charges could be reintroduced.
Bradshaw insisted that free entry would not be abolished: "National museums that used to charge have seen visitor numbers rise by 124 per cent. So I am committed to ensuring that free admission is not only maintained, but extended into other areas where possible."
Bradshaw, a former BBC journalist and the MP for Exeter, replaces Andy Burnham, who was named as secretary of state for health. Burnham had been in the Department for Culture Media and Sport post since January 2008.
Bradshaw's appointment comes as the debate over the government's policy of free admission to museums intensifies (see link below). Charges were scrapped in 2001, and in 2007 the government pledged free access to national museums until 2011.
But a Treasury requirement that £5bn in savings be found across all government departments by 2011 has raised fears that charges could be reintroduced.
Bradshaw insisted that free entry would not be abolished: "National museums that used to charge have seen visitor numbers rise by 124 per cent. So I am committed to ensuring that free admission is not only maintained, but extended into other areas where possible."
Links
Is free thinking on the way out?, Museums Journal July 2009, p13
Is free thinking on the way out?, Museums Journal July 2009, p13
