The Welsh Assembly Government closed a public consultation on its Cultural Duty Order proposal last month. The proposal could lead to new legislation making local authority cultural provision statutory.
But the proposal has received a mixed response from the sector, with criticism that it lacked detail.
Esther Roberts, curator at Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery in Bangor, told the Welsh Assembly that the wording of the proposed Cultural Duty Order, "to support, improve and promote museums and galleries", was "too weak".
She said that in Gwynedd it had been estimated that £16m worth of savings need to be found over the next three years across the council. "The service remains vulnerable in comparison with other local authority services that have a statutory obligation."
But Roberts added that she was in favour of the order. "The current permissive statutory position in relation to local authority cultural services has been woefully inadequate," she said.
"We would like to be optimistic that by raising the profile of cultural activities, a stronger statutory provision that safeguarded locally significant Welsh cultural artefacts would be possible."
John Marjoram, the development officer at the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales, also backed the plan: "For too long, there has been a slow erosion of provision. We hope the provisions of the Cultural Duty Order will mean better support for museums and galleries in Wales."
But he warned that "care would be needed to ensure that areas where there is currently better provision are not allowed to fall to a perceived minimum standard".
Marjoram also called for an assessment of the voluntary museum sector which, he said, would be indirectly affected by any new legislation.
But the proposal has received a mixed response from the sector, with criticism that it lacked detail.
Esther Roberts, curator at Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery in Bangor, told the Welsh Assembly that the wording of the proposed Cultural Duty Order, "to support, improve and promote museums and galleries", was "too weak".
She said that in Gwynedd it had been estimated that £16m worth of savings need to be found over the next three years across the council. "The service remains vulnerable in comparison with other local authority services that have a statutory obligation."
But Roberts added that she was in favour of the order. "The current permissive statutory position in relation to local authority cultural services has been woefully inadequate," she said.
"We would like to be optimistic that by raising the profile of cultural activities, a stronger statutory provision that safeguarded locally significant Welsh cultural artefacts would be possible."
John Marjoram, the development officer at the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales, also backed the plan: "For too long, there has been a slow erosion of provision. We hope the provisions of the Cultural Duty Order will mean better support for museums and galleries in Wales."
But he warned that "care would be needed to ensure that areas where there is currently better provision are not allowed to fall to a perceived minimum standard".
Marjoram also called for an assessment of the voluntary museum sector which, he said, would be indirectly affected by any new legislation.
