Sheffield council will vote this month on proposals to reduce the budget for Museums Sheffield by £328,000 – nearly 15% of its existing budget.
Sandra Newton, Museums Sheffield’s chair of trustees, said: “If the proposal is voted through, it would mean looking root and branch at our provision of services. It cannot fail to have an impact.
“We are still in discussions with the council over the outcome, but we are looking at minimising the impact on people and services.”
However, she added that she could not see how the trust could take on cuts of that size without a reduction in posts. “We are exploring all the options, but we have to be clear about the practicalities for us as a trust, and we have to balance the books,” said Newton.
A council spokesman said Museums Sheffield had not been singled out, and that proposals had been put forward to reduce all council grants to trusts.
“The reduction in funding is as a result of a reduced government grant to the local authority and we are looking at bridging an £80m funding gap in 2011-12,” he said.
“Museums Sheffield has been asked, as part of the proposals, to find savings of £328,000 next year from its £2.3m grant. The council and Museums Sheffield have been in discussion about how this could be achieved, and these discussions are ongoing.”
The proposals follow an independent financial review commissioned by the council last year that concluded that the museum service was underfunded and in need of recapitalisation. This led to a one-off council payment of £190,000 to the trust in 2010-11.
Museums Sheffield also suffered a £170,000 budget cut last year, leading to reduced pay and hours for the trust’s 110 employees across its Millennium Gallery, Weston Park, Graves Gallery and Bishops’ House sites.
The budget proposals will be voted on at a council meeting on 4 March.
Sandra Newton, Museums Sheffield’s chair of trustees, said: “If the proposal is voted through, it would mean looking root and branch at our provision of services. It cannot fail to have an impact.
“We are still in discussions with the council over the outcome, but we are looking at minimising the impact on people and services.”
However, she added that she could not see how the trust could take on cuts of that size without a reduction in posts. “We are exploring all the options, but we have to be clear about the practicalities for us as a trust, and we have to balance the books,” said Newton.
A council spokesman said Museums Sheffield had not been singled out, and that proposals had been put forward to reduce all council grants to trusts.
“The reduction in funding is as a result of a reduced government grant to the local authority and we are looking at bridging an £80m funding gap in 2011-12,” he said.
“Museums Sheffield has been asked, as part of the proposals, to find savings of £328,000 next year from its £2.3m grant. The council and Museums Sheffield have been in discussion about how this could be achieved, and these discussions are ongoing.”
The proposals follow an independent financial review commissioned by the council last year that concluded that the museum service was underfunded and in need of recapitalisation. This led to a one-off council payment of £190,000 to the trust in 2010-11.
Museums Sheffield also suffered a £170,000 budget cut last year, leading to reduced pay and hours for the trust’s 110 employees across its Millennium Gallery, Weston Park, Graves Gallery and Bishops’ House sites.
The budget proposals will be voted on at a council meeting on 4 March.
