Museums

HC Deb 30 March 1987 vol 113 cc428-9W

53. Mr. Weetch

asked the Minister for the Arts what is his latest estimate of the total number of young people visiting museums.

Mr. Luce

The ages of museum visitors are not usually recorded. However sample surveys of visitors to certain national museums and galleries suggest that between one fourth and one third of all visitors are under 20 years old.

54. Mr. Corbyn

asked the Minister for the Arts what representations he has had about possible initiatives to increase the number of people visiting museums.

59. Ms. Clare Short

asked the Minister for the Arts what representations he has had about possible initiatives to increase the number of people visiting museums.

84. Mrs. Golding

asked the Minister for the Arts what representations he has had about possible initiatives to increase the number of people visiting museums and galleries.

Mr. Luce

I refer the hon. Members to the answer given to the hon. Member for Ashfield (Mr. Haynes) earlier today.

62. Mr. Soley

asked the Minister for the Arts what is his latest estimate of the number of people visiting museums in London.

Mr. Luce

The estimated number of visitors during 1986 to the national museums and galleries in London that are sponsored by my Department was 14,654,133. No comparable figure is available for visits to the other 150 or so museums in London.

67. Mr. Patchett

asked the Minister for the Arts what is his latest estimate of the number of people visiting museums.

Mr. Luce

The information collected for the Museums Association database project suggests that some 68 million visits were made to museums and galleries in the United Kingdom in 1985, the most recent year for which figures are available.

71. Mr. Willie W. Hamilton

asked the Minister for the Arts what is his latest estimate of the number of people visiting museums in the south-west.

Mr. Luce

The information collected for the Museums Association database project suggests that some 5.3 million visits were made to museums and galleries in the south-west of England in 1985, the most recent year for which figures are available.

73. Mr. Blair

asked the Minister for the Arts what is his estimate of the trend in the numbers of people visiting museums in the last five years for which statistics are available.

Mr. Luce

The number of visitors to the national museums and galleries sponsored by my Department in each of the last five years was as follows:

	Number
1982	16,273,367
1983	16,751,471
1984	16,983,778
1985	17,556,789
1986	16,821,151