Nationals prepare for cutbacks
All national museums have been asked by the department for culture to outline the impact 25 per cent and 30 …
All national museums have been asked by the department for culture to outline the impact 25 per cent and 30 per cent cuts will have on their organisations
A letter from Jeremy Hunt, the secretary of state for culture, has asked national museums to supply information on what the cuts would mean in terms of: reduction in number of posts; how many posts would be lost through redundancy;
the associated costs; and when and where the job losses would take place.
The request is in anticipation of the Comprehensive Spending Review, expected on 20th October. All non-ringfenced government departments have to find approximately 25 per cent cuts over the four years from 2011-2015.
Museums Journal spoke to the directors of a number of national museums who all said that the cuts would have a drastic impact on their organisations. Among options being considered were reduced opening hours, closing venues, selling property and collections and reintroducing admission charges.
Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum, said every area of the museum’s activity would be affected by the scale of cuts being proposed.
David Fleming, the director of National Museums Liverpool, said that if the cuts were found from staff alone it would mean losing 190 posts. He added that the cuts would have a disproportionate effect on some museums: “This will hit hardest those museums whose ability to generate trading income is limited.”
It is unclear where the severance costs, which would run into tens of millions of pounds in some cases, would come from, or whether museums would be able to use reserves to fund compensations packages.
Concern has also been expressed at the uncertainty surrounding capital allocations for national museums. Capital spending on infrastructure as opposed to one-off developments has been a regular component of government grant in recent years but it is not clear whether this will continue.
In a separate move, Ed Vaizey, the minister for culture, has asked all national museums to supply detailed information about the costs of their learning programmes.
It is understood that this is for a planned meeting between Vaizey and Michael Gove, the secretary of state for education, to discuss the educational impact of museums. But sources close to national museums say it could signal the end of Strategic Commissioning, the education programme that is jointly funded by the culture and education departments.
Image: The British Museum
A letter from Jeremy Hunt, the secretary of state for culture, has asked national museums to supply information on what the cuts would mean in terms of: reduction in number of posts; how many posts would be lost through redundancy;
the associated costs; and when and where the job losses would take place.
The request is in anticipation of the Comprehensive Spending Review, expected on 20th October. All non-ringfenced government departments have to find approximately 25 per cent cuts over the four years from 2011-2015.
Museums Journal spoke to the directors of a number of national museums who all said that the cuts would have a drastic impact on their organisations. Among options being considered were reduced opening hours, closing venues, selling property and collections and reintroducing admission charges.
Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum, said every area of the museum’s activity would be affected by the scale of cuts being proposed.
David Fleming, the director of National Museums Liverpool, said that if the cuts were found from staff alone it would mean losing 190 posts. He added that the cuts would have a disproportionate effect on some museums: “This will hit hardest those museums whose ability to generate trading income is limited.”
It is unclear where the severance costs, which would run into tens of millions of pounds in some cases, would come from, or whether museums would be able to use reserves to fund compensations packages.
Concern has also been expressed at the uncertainty surrounding capital allocations for national museums. Capital spending on infrastructure as opposed to one-off developments has been a regular component of government grant in recent years but it is not clear whether this will continue.
In a separate move, Ed Vaizey, the minister for culture, has asked all national museums to supply detailed information about the costs of their learning programmes.
It is understood that this is for a planned meeting between Vaizey and Michael Gove, the secretary of state for education, to discuss the educational impact of museums. But sources close to national museums say it could signal the end of Strategic Commissioning, the education programme that is jointly funded by the culture and education departments.
Image: The British Museum