(2) how much funding the Higher Education Funding Council for England has allocated to museums and galleries in each of the last five years, expressed in 2009-10 prices.
[holding answer 6 January 2010]: The Higher Education Museum, Galleries and Collections Fund recognises the importance of these nationally valued institutions. I am pleased that the resources we have allocated to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) mean that they are planning not only to continue this funding stream, but also to increase it to £10.6 million in 2010/11.
However, it is important that all special funding streams are reviewed periodically. This ensures that public funds continue to be spent wisely. The Museums Fund is currently under review by a panel appointed by the Funding Council. The review will make broad recommendations about the fund’s future. The HEFCE Board will make detailed funding decisions for individual institutions based on these recommendations. I understand that those decisions are expected to be made before the summer, after which the review report will be published.
The Department has received correspondence from Oxford university and the university of Central Lancashire on this subject.
The total allocation in each year is as follows:
£ million 2005/06 10.8 2006/07 9.9 2007/08 0.2 2008/09 10.2 2009/10 10.1 2010/11 10.6 Note: The figures show levels of the Higher Education Museum, Galleries and Collections Fund over the past five years in cash terms. In 2005/06 the fund was administered by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The figure for 2005/06 shows both core and project funding from the AHRC and is not comparable to that for subsequent years.