In a statement released this morning, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced that the Government has decided not to proceed with a merger of English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The statement reads: ”Any future decision on changes which require legislation would be considered at a later date. However, DCMS has asked English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund, as a matter of urgency, to identify and reduce any overlap of activities.”
Jenny Abramsky, the chairwoman of the HLF, said: “Applicants will be pleased to know that it is very much ‘business as usual’ at HLF.
“Money set aside for HLF projects is absolutely safe and with around £50m more to spend from 2012/13, we will continue to encourage people to apply for funding to develop great heritage projects for everyone to enjoy.”
The MA’s head of policy and communications, Maurice Davies, said: “Museums throughout the UK will be hugely relieved that for once the new government has listened to their concerns and HLF will retain its independence.
”Now the government needs to take seriously warnings about the devastation that cuts would make to the services provided by museums and galleries and stop pretending that massive cuts could be dealt with by so-called efficiency savings.”
The DCMS also announced that the Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck Sites will be abolished while the Advisory Committee on National Historic Ships and the Advisory Committee on the Government Art Collection will be declassified.
The announcement also confirmed that the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council is to be abolished.
The statement reads: ”Any future decision on changes which require legislation would be considered at a later date. However, DCMS has asked English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund, as a matter of urgency, to identify and reduce any overlap of activities.”
Jenny Abramsky, the chairwoman of the HLF, said: “Applicants will be pleased to know that it is very much ‘business as usual’ at HLF.
“Money set aside for HLF projects is absolutely safe and with around £50m more to spend from 2012/13, we will continue to encourage people to apply for funding to develop great heritage projects for everyone to enjoy.”
The MA’s head of policy and communications, Maurice Davies, said: “Museums throughout the UK will be hugely relieved that for once the new government has listened to their concerns and HLF will retain its independence.
”Now the government needs to take seriously warnings about the devastation that cuts would make to the services provided by museums and galleries and stop pretending that massive cuts could be dealt with by so-called efficiency savings.”
The DCMS also announced that the Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck Sites will be abolished while the Advisory Committee on National Historic Ships and the Advisory Committee on the Government Art Collection will be declassified.
The announcement also confirmed that the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council is to be abolished.
