An evidence session may be held to examine the Welsh Government's proposal to merge some of the core functions of Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum Wales (NMW) with those of Cadw, the government’s historic environment service.
At a meeting of the Culture, Welsh Language & Communications Committee earlier this month, Welsh Assembly Members acknowledged that the proposal had resulted in a “howl of anguish” from the heritage sector.
One restructure option being considered would see the creation of a new executive agency, Historic Wales, that would bring some museum operations under the direct control of the government. The Museums Association described this as a “clear threat” to the museum’s independence.
In response to the large amount of correspondence that the proposal has generated, the committee’s chair Bethan Jenkins said a session should be held with representatives from the museum and Ken Skates, the minister with responsibility for culture, in order to air the views of the museum sector.
The committee did not reach a decision on whether to hold the session but the minister has indicated that he feels a hearing would be appropriate.
Meanwhile NMW welcomed news this week that the government is proposing to raise its budget by at least 3.5% next year.
A statement from the museum said: “After five years of cuts, which saw our budget reduced by 33%, we look forward to receiving more detail on how this increase of at least 3.5% can help us build a more sustainable future for the organisation.
“Whilst this is initially a one year draft budget, we hope that this level of increased funding will be retained in future in order to provide greater job security for staff, protect expertise and maintain a world class national museum service for the people of Wales and its visitors.”
At a meeting of the Culture, Welsh Language & Communications Committee earlier this month, Welsh Assembly Members acknowledged that the proposal had resulted in a “howl of anguish” from the heritage sector.
One restructure option being considered would see the creation of a new executive agency, Historic Wales, that would bring some museum operations under the direct control of the government. The Museums Association described this as a “clear threat” to the museum’s independence.
In response to the large amount of correspondence that the proposal has generated, the committee’s chair Bethan Jenkins said a session should be held with representatives from the museum and Ken Skates, the minister with responsibility for culture, in order to air the views of the museum sector.
The committee did not reach a decision on whether to hold the session but the minister has indicated that he feels a hearing would be appropriate.
Meanwhile NMW welcomed news this week that the government is proposing to raise its budget by at least 3.5% next year.
A statement from the museum said: “After five years of cuts, which saw our budget reduced by 33%, we look forward to receiving more detail on how this increase of at least 3.5% can help us build a more sustainable future for the organisation.
“Whilst this is initially a one year draft budget, we hope that this level of increased funding will be retained in future in order to provide greater job security for staff, protect expertise and maintain a world class national museum service for the people of Wales and its visitors.”
