asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will announce allocations of funding for museums and galleries during the next three years.
Following my announcement on 5th November (Official Report, cols. 1189–1191) of a three-year settlement of the arts budget, I can now announce allocations to individual museums and galleries for the period from April 1988 to March 1991.Overall provision for museums and galleries will be £157 million in 1988–89, £160 million in 1989–90 and £164 million in 1990–91. These figures are substantially higher than the £125·6 million which appears in the relevant estimates for the present year, for two reasons. First, there is a substantial increase, rising from over £11 million in 1988–89 to almost £12 million in 1990–91, in the planned provision for museums and galleries out of the settlement announced on 5th November; secondly, the total includes transfers of funding to the museums and galleries and the Museums and Galleries Commission in respect of services, including superannuation and the services of the Treasury Solicitor, for which the institutions will in future pay directly from their running costs, and property rates and certain rents which have been included in the provisions for building and maintenance work. The combined effect of these changes is to give a clearer picture of the total resources which the institutions as a group are receiving from central government through the arts programme.Subject to parliamentary approval of Supply Estimates at the appropriate time, the Government propose that the allocations to specific institutions shall be as indicated in the table below. Excluding transfers, these figures amount to an increase of 15·9 per cent, for the three-year period as a whole. They are intended to give museums and galleries a firm base on which to plan their future activities and development. By providing the largest increase in the first year, they are intended to encourage early action to strengthen the institutions' management and financial position. Apart from the figures for building and maintenance in the second and third years, referred to below, the figures will not be reviewed in the course of the 1988–89 expenditure surveys unless the situation changes substantially in ways that cannot be foreseen today. The Government will consider in 1988 what provision to make for the last year of that survey—i.e. for 1991–92; and similarly in 1989 what provision to make for 1992–93—with a view to a rolling three-year programme.
Provision for running costs is being increased to take account of particular needs. Each institution will receive increases over and above the forward planning figures notified first in the spring of this year. My right honourable friend the Minister for the Arts is in particular providing increased grants for the Tate Gallery to help with the costs of the gallery in Liverpool which is to open next year; for the Imperial War Museum for the costs of fitting out the new galleries which will result from its major redevelopment scheme; and for the National Gallery for the running costs of the new Sainsbury Wing, which is due to open in the final year of the period.
Within the allocations for running costs, the Government have earmarked a total of £0·57 million to help the institutions through training and in other ways to improve their management and marketing. The Government also made provision within the grant-in-aid to the Museums and Galleries Commission announced on 5th November to enable the commission to assist other museums and galleries in the same way.
The Government have given careful thought to the question of purchase grants and have decided to give a higher priority to the other, more pressing needs which the institutions have represented to my right honourable friend the Minister for the Arts and which are reflected in the allocations for running costs and building and maintenance. Purchase grants will therefore remain in cash terms at their present levels for the time being.
The allocations to the individual institutions include for the first time provision within their grants-in-aid for building and maintenance. The building and maintenance programme for most of the institutions, which is at present managed by the Property Services Agency and carried on its Vote, will, as my right honourable friend the Minister for the Arts announced in July 1986, become the responsibility of the individual institutions from 1st April next; provision for it will be made in the Office of Arts and Libraries' Vote. The Government's allocations for this purpose will total £48·47 million in 1988–89. This includes the increase of £6 million which I announced on 5th November would be devoted to strengthening the building and maintenance programme. The Government hope that the institutions will be able as a result to tackle their priority maintenance tasks and get the new system off to a good start. For 1989–90 and 1990–91 the Government have decided to allocate to individual institutions the bulk of the money for building and maintenance, but to keep for future allocation a margin of 25 to 30 per cent, of the total. The allocation of the margin, amounting to over £12 million in 1989–90 and nearly £15 million in 1990–91, will depend partly upon the plans which the institutions bring forward and the extent to which they can raise money for these from other sources.
The national museums and galleries make a splendid contribution to conserving and displaying our national heritage. With the provisions which the Government are making for the next three years and with the incentive which these provide to strengthen their financial position, the Government are confident that they will continue to do so and that the institutions will welcome the firm basis which these allocations provide for their future planning and development.
£million
| |||
1988–89
| 1989–90 *
| 1990–91 *
| |
| MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES | |||
| British Museum | |||
| Running costs | 15·665 | 16·132 | 16·594 |
| Building programme | 7·580 | 5·700 | 6·000 |
| Purchase grant | 1·400 | 1·400 | 1·400 |
| Sub Total | 24·645 | 23·232 | 23·994 |
| British Museum (Natural History) | |||
| Running costs | 15·370 | 15·772 | 16·242 |
| Building programme | 6·740 | 5·800 | 5·600 |
| Purchase grant | 0·190 | 0·190 | 0·190 |
| Sub Total | 22·300 | 21·762 | 22·032 |
| Imperial War Museum | |||
| Running costs | 6·318 | 6·515 | 6·129 |
| Building programme | 6·520 | 2·700 | 1·700 |
| Purchase grant | 0·100 | 1·100 | 0·100 |
| Sub Total | 12·938 | 9·315 | 7·929 |
| National Gallery | |||
| Running costs | 5·233 | 5·406 | 6·208 |
| Building programme | 3·490 | 3·300 | 2·900 |
| Purchase grant | 2·750 | 2·750 | 2·750 |
| Sub Total | 11·473 | 11·456 | 11·858 |
| National Maritime Museum | |||
| Running costs | 5·530 | 5·678 | 5·791 |
| Building programme | 2·510 | 2·500 | 2·000 |
| Purchase grant | 0·205 | 0·205 | 0·205 |
| Sub Total | 8·245 | 8·383 | 7·996 |
| National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside | |||
| Running costs | 6·780 | 6·996 | 7·169 |
| Building programme | 2·690 | 2·500 | 2·400 |
| Purchase grant | 0·750 | 0·750 | 0·750 |
| Sub Total | 10·220 | 10·246 | 10·319 |
| National Portrait Gallery | |||
| Running costs | 1·996 | 2·020 | 2·072 |
| Building programme | 3·020 | 1·500 | 1·500 |
| Purchase grant | 0·310 | 0·310 | 0·310 |
| Sub Total | 5·326 | 3·830 | 3·882 |
| Science Museum | |||
| Running costs | 11·047 | 11·374 | 11·652 |
| Building programme | 5·210 | 3·400 | 3·500 |
| Purchase grant | 0·375 | 0·375 | 0·375 |
| Sub Total | 16·632 | 15·149 | 15·527 |
| Tate Gallery | |||
| Running costs | 6·300 | 6·586 | 6·766 |
| Building programme | 2·780 | 2·800 | 2·900 |
| Purchase grant | 1·815 | 1·815 | 1·815 |
| Sub Total | 10·895 | 11·201 | 11·481 |
£million
| |||
1988–89
| 1989–90 *
| 1990–91 *
| |
| Victoria and Albert Museum | |||
| Running costs | 12·900 | 13·315 | 13·716 |
| Building programme | 7·480 | 5·400 | 5·400 |
| Purchase grant | 1·145 | 1·145 | 1·145 |
| Sub Total | 21·525 | 19·860 | 20·261 |
| Wallace Collection | |||
| Running costs | 1·149 | 1·186 | 1·217 |
| Building programme | 0·449 | 0·400 | 0·400 |
| Purchase grant | — | — | — |
| Sub Total | 1·598 | 1·586 | 1·617 |
| To be allocated later for building and maintenance | — | 12·100 | 14·700 |
Running costs, including provision for building and maintenance
| |||
| Greater Manchester Museum of Science and Industry | 1·473 | 1·516 | 1·552 |
| Museum of London | 2·776 | 2·855 | 2·923 |
| Sir John Soane's Museum | 0·275 | 0·295 | 0·305 |
| Sub Total | 4·524 | 4·666 | 4·780 |
| Museums and Galleries Commission | 6·481 | 6·696 | 6·877 |
| Research and Support Services | 0·500 | 0·500 | 0·500 |
| Total | 157·302 | 159·982 | 163·753 |
*Individual provisions for the building programme in these two years will be increased when full allocation is made. | |||