HL Deb 01 December 1997 vol 583 cc153-4WA
Lord Freyberg

asked Her Majesty's Government:

For each of (a) the Royal Air Force Museum, (b) the National Museum of Wales and (c) the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, in which year compulsory entrance charges and voluntary donations were introduced, how many people visited in the year before and the year after the introduction of such charges and donations, what percentage charge this represents and how many people visited the museum in 1996–97.

Lord Hoyle

Of the four museums now forming the Royal Air Force Museum, only the original Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon did not levy entrance charges from the date of opening to the public. The Trustees introduced entrance charges for the original museum in 1988 and visitor figures for the preceding and subsequent financial years are given below:

Admissions 1987–88 Admissions 1988–89 Change
350,0001 189,199 –46%1
Note:
1Fully accurate visitor figures have only been maintained since the introduction of entrance charges and the 1987–88 figure is likely to be some 20 per cent. overstated as a result of double counting.

The 1996–97 visitor figure for the Royal Air Force Museum as a whole (including the former Battle of Britain and Bomber Command Museums at Hendon and the Aerospace Museum at Cosford) totalled 241,279 (135,270 for the Hendon site and 106,009 for Cosford).

I am advised by the Welsh Office that the Trustees of the National Museum and Gally Cardiff introduced entrance charges in 1988 and that visitor figures for the preceding and subsequent financial years were:

Admissions 1987–88 Admissions 1988–89 change
447,542 267,146 –40%
The 1996–97 visitor figure was 243,022.

I am also advised by the Northern Ireland Office that the Trustees of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum introduced entrance charges in 1964, when the Museum was opened to the public. The 1996–97 visitor figure was 206,042.