Scottish culture minister Michael Russell has called for the establishment of a national policy for Scottish museums.
Speaking after the first Scottish museums summit in Stirling last month, which was attended by 60 figures from across the sector, Russell said: "We agreed there needs to be a clear and consistent national policy. The sector needs to be involved in setting that, and some degree of reprioritising between parts of the sector will be required.
"I will be setting up a small group of people from the sector to devise such a policy, and will talk to a wide meeting of the sector once we have some formal proposals."
A spokesman for the Scottish government said the minister was still looking for people to make up the group. An announcement would be made soon, he added, as it was hoped that a national policy would be in place by the beginning of next year.
At the time of going to press, Liz Cameron, chairwoman of Culture and Sport Glasgow, was the only confirmed member of the group.
The group will draw on the summit's four key themes: the future of Scotland's industrial museums; balancing local and national provision of roles, responsibilities and resources; articulating the sector's contribution to Scottish society; and making the best use of limited resources.
Henry McLeish, chairman of the Scottish Mining Trust, said he thought the summit was a success, but added: "In the situation we are in now, we want public value. People want to know why £50m on a Titian is better public value than preserving our industrial heritage.
"We tried to impress on the summit that industrial heritage has to be maintained, invested in and given a high priority."
But John Stewart-Young, arts and heritage manager at Dundee City Council, said that without increased resources, it was difficult to see how the working group could take things forward.
Speaking after the first Scottish museums summit in Stirling last month, which was attended by 60 figures from across the sector, Russell said: "We agreed there needs to be a clear and consistent national policy. The sector needs to be involved in setting that, and some degree of reprioritising between parts of the sector will be required.
"I will be setting up a small group of people from the sector to devise such a policy, and will talk to a wide meeting of the sector once we have some formal proposals."
A spokesman for the Scottish government said the minister was still looking for people to make up the group. An announcement would be made soon, he added, as it was hoped that a national policy would be in place by the beginning of next year.
At the time of going to press, Liz Cameron, chairwoman of Culture and Sport Glasgow, was the only confirmed member of the group.
The group will draw on the summit's four key themes: the future of Scotland's industrial museums; balancing local and national provision of roles, responsibilities and resources; articulating the sector's contribution to Scottish society; and making the best use of limited resources.
Henry McLeish, chairman of the Scottish Mining Trust, said he thought the summit was a success, but added: "In the situation we are in now, we want public value. People want to know why £50m on a Titian is better public value than preserving our industrial heritage.
"We tried to impress on the summit that industrial heritage has to be maintained, invested in and given a high priority."
But John Stewart-Young, arts and heritage manager at Dundee City Council, said that without increased resources, it was difficult to see how the working group could take things forward.
