High-profile museum redevelopment projects could be put on hold because of a shortfall in government grants, it was revealed last month.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has confirmed that it has a shortage in its capital budget, thought to be £100m, and a spokesman said that its entire capital allocation was under review. The shortfall has been caused by the Treasury withdrawing its "end of year flexibility" arrangement under which allocated money can be carried forward if projects are delayed.
The DCMS spokesman said that there was no question of clawing back money that had already been drawn down and that it was more likely that projects would be delayed rather than cancelled.
Projects that could be affected are the Tate Modern extension and the British Museum's North West Development. The DCMS has committed £50m to Tate 2, which is due to be completed in 2012 at an estimated cost of £215m. Tate has so far raised approximately a third of this.
The British Museum has been pledged £22.5m by government towards its £135m development, which is also due to be finished in 2012. The museum has raised £90m of the overall cost and has already had two thirds of its grant for the project from government.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has confirmed that it has a shortage in its capital budget, thought to be £100m, and a spokesman said that its entire capital allocation was under review. The shortfall has been caused by the Treasury withdrawing its "end of year flexibility" arrangement under which allocated money can be carried forward if projects are delayed.
The DCMS spokesman said that there was no question of clawing back money that had already been drawn down and that it was more likely that projects would be delayed rather than cancelled.
Projects that could be affected are the Tate Modern extension and the British Museum's North West Development. The DCMS has committed £50m to Tate 2, which is due to be completed in 2012 at an estimated cost of £215m. Tate has so far raised approximately a third of this.
The British Museum has been pledged £22.5m by government towards its £135m development, which is also due to be finished in 2012. The museum has raised £90m of the overall cost and has already had two thirds of its grant for the project from government.
