Warning over closure of sites as Museum Wales grapples with budget cut

The chief executive of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales has warned that the institution is facing an "extremely difficult" situation following a £3m cut to its grant-in-aid.

The institution is undergoing a sweeping restructure as it grapples with the funding cut alongside a £1.5m year-on-year funding deficit.

Richardson told the BBC's Sunday Supplement that the institution had been "under double pressure" due to the scale and timing of the cut.

She said the institution, which manages seven sites across Wales, may be forced to close sites if it faced any further cuts, and warned that the national museum in Cardiff needs "urgent, critical" repair work and could shut unless it secures the necessary capital funds.

"We are being as positive as we can about this massive budget cut, we've done an entire restructure, we've looked at a new income strategy, we've got commercial opportunities for the next few years," said Richardson.

"However if we were to get further cuts on that scale I'd need to be very honest with government and with all our stakeholders that we couldn't continue to run as the size of museum we are now."

Richardson said the National Museum Cardiff building is rapidly deteriorating, with leaks and failing electrics endangering the objects housed there.

"Unless we're able to secure more funds for the building that will have to close," she said.

"Our neighbours next door, Cardiff City Council, have already had to close and [that building] is the same age and has exactly the same problems as us... We are really clear as an organisation that that building needs urgent critical work for us to be able to continue opening to the public there."

Wales's new first minister, Vaughan Gething, has defended his government's budget decisions.

Speaking at a press conference in Ebbw Vale this week, Gething said the Welsh Government's pledge to prioritise health and social care and local government "meant that there were much more difficult choices to make across the range of government".

"If the NHS is really is our priority and we're going to invest in it, you can't have that consequence-free for every other area of public life," he said.

Asked about Richardson's comments, first minister Gething said: "I'd like to see a future where the National Museum in Cardiff is able to do the work required on the building and deliver an excellent service."

He added: "We need to think about how the whole national museum has an offer, that is understood, that people know about, and that people take advantage of.

"We can and should still have ambition for what our national museum and galleries can provide."

A spokesman for Museum Wales said: "Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales currently has no plans to close National Museum Cardiff. However, the deterioration to the roof of the museum is significant. We’re therefore in discussions with Welsh Government to secure capital funding specifically for building maintenance."

Restructure

Museum Wales has already made at least 90 voluntary redundancies from a staff of around 600, with the final figure still to be confirmed.

"The double pressure was the scale of the cuts we needed to make and the time we needed to make them in," Richardson told the BBC. "We had to deliver all the cuts before 1 April and we only heard just before Christmas what the cut would be, so it's been extremely difficult for my whole team to make a change on that scale within a matter of weeks.

"It's been quite extraordinary; I've been part of many change programmes in different organisations over the years and I've never known anything like this," she added, saying the process had been "enormously emotional for everyone involved".

A spokesman for Museum Wales said: "Amgueddfa Cymru has not made any compulsory redundancies at present. We are however, undertaking a voluntary severance scheme due to cuts to our funding. 

"We're working with staff and trade unions to ensure we avoid any compulsory redundancies whenever possible. As discussions with staff are still ongoing, we’re unable to confirm the number of voluntary redundancies at this time."

The institution will prioritise the visitor experience, said Richardson, who said visitors would not see a decline in the quality of its exhibitions and public-facing work. However, the institution's sites will operate with reduced opening times in the winter.

Richardson said Museum Wales had decided against a mooted proposal to reintroduce charges for its permanent exhibitions, after research showed that it would be financially worse off due to the loss of tax advantages.

The institution is trialling ways to generate more income, including more charges for "added value" offers such as tours and special exhibitions. One current temporary exhibition, The Art of the Selfie, charges £1 entry with a push for visitors to voluntarily donate more, which has so far proven successful, Richardson said.

Museum sector bodies are continuing to urge the Welsh Government to rethink the cuts.

Sharon Heal, director of the Museums Association, said: "These cuts to services and job losses will have a devastating impact on museum staff, communities and the nation as a whole.

"The closure of Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd – National Museum Cardiff would be a huge loss to the people of Wales – the museum houses the national collection of art and world-renowned collections that tell the history of the nation. If it were to close it would leave Wales as the only nation in the UK without a national museum.

"We urge the Welsh government to think again, reverse the cuts and find the capital investment necessary to keep the national museum in Cardiff open."