Funding cuts lead to restructures in Scotland
North Ayrshire merges community-based services, while Highland museums face closure
Several Scottish museum services are being restructured in the face of budget cuts across the UK.
North Ayrshire Council has deleted 20 managerial posts and merged its community-based services, including museums, libraries and children’s outreach, saving £794,000 year on year.
The budget for the council’s two museums remains unchanged, but the restructure involved the deletion of one curatorial post. It will be replaced by a new post responsible for both museums and libraries, held by a chartered librarian.
East Dunbartonshire Council is proposing to merge leisure and cultural services, while West Dunbartonshire Council’s museum service is to merge with libraries.
Renfrewshire Council is looking to make £75m of savings over the next three years, and is consulting on where and how the cuts should be made.
The Highland Council has given residents three options as to what they want to remain open: the Highland Folk Museum; Inverness Museum and Art Gallery; and the 19 independent museums in the region. The council is also looking into forming a culture and leisure trust, with a decision set to be made next month.
One local authority source said: “Across the board, museum services are being merged with other services and streamlined. The positive aspect is that it embeds museums into other agendas. But there are fewer posts available and there is a lot of competitive interviewing for them.”
The Scottish government has to find £332m of cuts in 2011, but no details have yet been given on where the cuts will be made and how this might affect museums. A draft budget will be published in the autumn.
North Ayrshire Council has deleted 20 managerial posts and merged its community-based services, including museums, libraries and children’s outreach, saving £794,000 year on year.
The budget for the council’s two museums remains unchanged, but the restructure involved the deletion of one curatorial post. It will be replaced by a new post responsible for both museums and libraries, held by a chartered librarian.
East Dunbartonshire Council is proposing to merge leisure and cultural services, while West Dunbartonshire Council’s museum service is to merge with libraries.
Renfrewshire Council is looking to make £75m of savings over the next three years, and is consulting on where and how the cuts should be made.
The Highland Council has given residents three options as to what they want to remain open: the Highland Folk Museum; Inverness Museum and Art Gallery; and the 19 independent museums in the region. The council is also looking into forming a culture and leisure trust, with a decision set to be made next month.
One local authority source said: “Across the board, museum services are being merged with other services and streamlined. The positive aspect is that it embeds museums into other agendas. But there are fewer posts available and there is a lot of competitive interviewing for them.”
The Scottish government has to find £332m of cuts in 2011, but no details have yet been given on where the cuts will be made and how this might affect museums. A draft budget will be published in the autumn.