HL Deb 12 January 1998 vol 584 cc136-7WA
The Earl of Clancarty

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the research carried out by the Museums and Galleries Commission into admission charges, whether they will carry out research into the effects on access, including effects at a national level and on local people and artists of (a) the levying of charges by public museums and galleries in the United Kingdom for admission to the permanent collections; and (b) the lifting of charges in those museums where this has occurred.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

The effects of both introducing and lifting admission charges have to some extent already been examined by the research carried out for the Museums and Galleries Commission.

The effects of charging on access cannot be viewed in isolation. Other barriers to access such as opening hours, presentation and the cost of travel must be taken into account.

The Earl of Clancarty

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the statistical or other evidence used as the basis for Lord McIntosh of Haringey's remark in the House on 20 November that "there is evidence in Merseyside that customers have not been deterred by the [national museum] charges that were introduced in July [1997]" (HL Deb, col. 653).

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

Initial figures from the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside for the months of July and August 1997 showed a 2 per cent. increase in visitor numbers over the same months in the previous year. There are also indications that repeat visits to the same museum, and visits to more than one museum, have risen since the introduction of a charge for an annual ticket. However, the latest figures, for the four months July–October 1997, show a 6 per cent. drop in visitors compared with the same months in 1996. Data over a longer period are required before reliable inferences can be made.