HC Deb 22 July 1987 vol 120 cc240-2W
Mr. Alton

asked the Minister for the Arts how much of his Department's expenditure on museums has been set aside for the replacement of the Greater London council and metropolitan authorities grants to museums in every year since the Greater London council and metropolitan authorities were abolished; which institutions have benefited; and by how much.

Mr. Luce

[pursuant to his reply, 20 July 1987]: On the abolition of the metropolitan county councils, the central Government arts programme took on the direct funding of two major museums: the national museums and galleries on Merseyside, which were allocated a total grant-in-aid of £10.145 million in 1986–87 (including a special provision of £1.4 million for the completion of the Merseyside maritime museum project) and £9.414 million in 1987–88; and the Greater Manchester museum of science and industry which was allocated £1.075 million in 1986–87 and £1.252 million in 1987–88. The Government also increased from 33 per cent. to 50 per cent. their contribution towards the costs of the museum of London, a cash increase of £0.75 million in 1986–87 and £0.776 million in 1987–88.

Arrangements for assistance to certain other institutions were made by transfers to the appropriate funding agency in 1986–87. The University Grants Committee received £0.336 million for Manchester university's museum and the Whitworth gallery; the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission received £1.75 million for Kenwood house, Rangers house and Marble Hill house; and the Inner London education authority £1.361 million for the Geoffrye and Horniman museums.

Assistance to other museums and galleries in abolition areas is channelled through the Museums and Galleries Commission and disbursed as grants. With the exception of the Tyne and Wear museum service where longer term arrangements were appropriate, the commission has negotiated with each successor local authority an agreement whereby central Government support was 75 per cent. of metropolitan county council funding, uprated for inflation, in 1986–87, is 50 per cent. in 1987–88 and will be 25 per cent. in 1988–89 and nil thereafter. All the successor authorities have agreed to make up the funding to at least pre-abolition levels and some have exceeded these. Allocations for 1986–87 are as follows. Precise levels of funding to individual institutions for 1987–88 are still under discussion.

Museums and galleries commission: Post abolition grants 1986–87
£ £
Greater London (London Boroughs Grants Scheme—Richmond)
Dulwich Picture Gallery 5,375
Jewish Museum 8,070
Museum of the Jewish East End 12,700
National Museum of Labour History 7,987
Area Museum Service for South 10,375
Eastern England, for London Museum Service
44,507
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear Joint Museums Committee (Joint Committee) 750,000
Beamish, North of England Open Air Museum (5 separate District Councils) 105,000
North of England Museum Service 350
855,350
Greater Manchester
£ million
1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88
(a) National museums and galleries
British Museum 4.982 5.305 6.406 7.843 10.141 11.116 11.602 12.350 12.771 13.096 13.345 13.938
Imperial War Museum 1.296 1.673 2.035 2.445 3.107 3.710 3.871 3.997 4.100 4.445 4.497 4.727
National Gallery 2.262 2.330 3.255 4.441 5.545 5.657 6.005 6.659 6.992 6.571 6.771 7.017
National Maritime Museum 1.573 1.817 1.986 2.538 3.381 3.563 3.796 3.988 4.275 4.218 4.462 4.677
National museums and galleries on Merseyside 0.018 10.145 9.414
National Portrait Gallery 0.647 0.735 0.966 1.196 1.474 1.581 1.674 1.757 1.866 1.777 1.814 1.899
Science Museum 2.696 3.183 3.235 4.526 5.917 6.388 7.117 7.642 8.483 8.954 9.171 9.589
Tate Gallery 1.813 2.154 3.152 3.328 4.558 4.681 5.023 5.320 5.594 5.644 5.782 6.497
Victoria and Albert Museum 4.087 4.299 4.939 6.882 8.774 8.749 9.365 10.299 11.340 10.670 11.023 11.680
Wallace Collection 0.315 0.311 0.345 0.414 0.617 0.656 0.759 0.781 0.822 0.876 0.906 0.939
National museums and galleries building programme 10.000 10.333 17.232 12.137 14.159 15.527 23.067 22.378 25.557 30.132 27.681 27.302
(b) Museums and galleries commission (including area museum councils) 0.755 0.906 0.951 1.501 1.557 1.914 2.194 2.375 2.913 4.196 5.961 6.233
(c) Other museums and galleries funded by the Office of Arts and Libraries
Greater Manchester Museum of Science 1.075 1.252
Museum of London 0.750 0.844 0.735 0.856 1.005 1.034 1.175 1.240 1.278 1.357 2.250 2.329
Sir John Soane's Museum 0.075 0.069 0.075 0.095 0.129 0.144 0.153 0.149 0.205 0.232 0.250 0.287
Total expenditure 31.251 33.959 45.312 48.202 60.364 64.720 75.801 78.935 85.258 92.186 105.133 107.780
£ £
Lyme Hall (Stockport) 61,780
61,780
Merseyside
North Western Museum and Art Gallery Service 20,300
20,300
West Midlands
Dudley, Black Country Museum (Dudley) 43,315
43,315
South Yorkshire
Cooper Art Gallery (Barnsley) 46,060
Worsborough Mill Museum (Barnsley) 21,300
67,360
West Yorkshire
Yorkshire Sculpture Park (Wakefield) 26,380
Caphouse Colliery, Yorkshire Mining Museum (Wakefield) 33,150
Area Museum and Art Gallery Service for Yorkshire and Humberside 2,660
62,190
1,154,802