HL Deb 15 June 1992 vol 538 cc2-3WA
Baroness Stedman

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much public money has been allocated to the National Maritime Museum for each financial year since the Board of Trustees was reconstituted in 1989; what volume of other funds has been secured otherwise than by earnings; and for what purpose the non-public funds have been used.

Viscount Astor

The information is as follows:

Public money allocated to NMM since 1989
1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93
£ million £ million £ million £ million
Running cost grant 5.563 6.103 6.827 6.998
Buildings grant 3.450 4.600 4.384 4.320
Purchase grant 0.205 0.205 0.205 0.205
9.218 10.908 11.416 11.523

£ million
Museums & Galleries Development Fund (50 per cent, public money) 0.243

It has never been a requirement to report publicly on privately sourced monies. However, they are accounted for internally and reported on quarterly to the Board of Trustees.

These monies arrive from a variety of sources, including personal donations, gifts from organisations with maritime connections, covenants, bequests and endowments from sponsoring organisations. Sometimes the donor wishes there to be no publicity.

These funds are used to support the core activities of the museum. This includes such things as financing special exhibitions, producing educational text books and similar learning materials, augmenting the museum's scholarship by sponsoring research in maritime fields and contributing towards restoration projects.