§ Mr. FauldsTo ask the Minister for the Arts, whether he will publish in theOfficial Report the attendance figures for 1987 reported by the national museums and galleries in England for which he is responsible, broken down into the individual institutions but comprising their outstations, with figures in each case of the percentage increase or decrease on the attendance figures for 1986; and whether, in the case of such museums or galleries as charge for admission, he will in addition specify the number of tickets sold.
§ Mr. Luce[holding answer 18 January 1988]: The estimated numbers of visitors during 1987 to the 11 national museums and galleries for which I am responsible are as follows:
Estimated attendance in 1987 Percentage change from 1986 British Museum 4,007,885 +3.6 Imperial War Museum 1,184,959 +0.8 National Gallery 3,566,568 +12.1 National Maritime Museum 442,005 +16.3 National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside 1,328,844 +14.2 National Portrait Gallery 590,841 -14.5 Science Museum 4,732,784 -1.9 Tate Gallery 1,742,156 +51.1 Victoria and Albert Museum 1,398,668 -2.8 Wallace Collection 168,109 -1.6 Note:
Figures for the British Museum (Natural History) are not yet available.
Museums record visitors by a variety of methods, which in most cases are regarded as being accurate to within 5 per cent. only. This limits the interpretation of apparent annual changes in attendance, which may also be affected by other factors including, for example, the numbers of overseas visitors to London at individual museums and galleries.
Information on the numbers of admission tickets sold is not held centrally. The numbers will depend on the policies and practices and practices of individual 195W institutions, for example as regards the number and nature of events for which admission is charged and the treatment of parties and family groups.