The Museum of Science and Industry (Mosi) in Manchester will not be compensated by the government for the £900,000 that it invested in the failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander (KSF).
Mosi director Steve Davies wrote to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in March saying that he was concerned about the effect the bank's failure would have on the museum's finances.
In a reply to Davies dated 7 May, arts minister Barbara Follett stated: "Although we understand the situation you are in, the government cannot, I am afraid, treat charities any differently from the other creditors of the failed Icelandic banks that are ineligible to claim compensation under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme."
Mosi trustees and senior managers, including Davies, travelled to Westminster on 12 May to lobby for a full refund of the money. But a government spokesman told Museums Journal that its position had not changed.
The government's stance is in opposition to the findings of the House of Commons Treasury Committee, which recommended, in its report of 4 April, that "on this occasion only", all charities should be compensated for losses incurred as a consequence of the failure of the Icelandic banks.
An early-day motion, which received 76 signatures, was put forward on 29 April, urging the government to heed the committee's findings.
In April, a progress report by KSF's administrators, Ernst & Young, estimated that creditors would receive at least half of their original investment, with an initial repayment of at least 10p in the pound followed by payments at regular intervals.
This initial repayment was due last month but hadn't yet been made as Museums Journal went to press.
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, also in Manchester, which had £6.5m invested in KSF, last month received full compensation from NHS North West.
Mosi director Steve Davies wrote to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in March saying that he was concerned about the effect the bank's failure would have on the museum's finances.
In a reply to Davies dated 7 May, arts minister Barbara Follett stated: "Although we understand the situation you are in, the government cannot, I am afraid, treat charities any differently from the other creditors of the failed Icelandic banks that are ineligible to claim compensation under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme."
Mosi trustees and senior managers, including Davies, travelled to Westminster on 12 May to lobby for a full refund of the money. But a government spokesman told Museums Journal that its position had not changed.
The government's stance is in opposition to the findings of the House of Commons Treasury Committee, which recommended, in its report of 4 April, that "on this occasion only", all charities should be compensated for losses incurred as a consequence of the failure of the Icelandic banks.
An early-day motion, which received 76 signatures, was put forward on 29 April, urging the government to heed the committee's findings.
In April, a progress report by KSF's administrators, Ernst & Young, estimated that creditors would receive at least half of their original investment, with an initial repayment of at least 10p in the pound followed by payments at regular intervals.
This initial repayment was due last month but hadn't yet been made as Museums Journal went to press.
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, also in Manchester, which had £6.5m invested in KSF, last month received full compensation from NHS North West.
