§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many(a) museums, (b) libraries and (c) galleries have reported damage to their collections arising from the November floods; what steps he is taking to ensure artefacts are protected against flooding; and if he will make a statement. [138549]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthI have had a report about damage at the underground Cabinet War Rooms arising from the recent heavy rainfall. I am also aware of significant and regrettable damage to the University of Sussex's Library Store and the East Sussex County Reserve Library Store, both in Lewes, as a result of the recent floods and of some minor damage in some of Kent county council's libraries. Additionally, I gather that there has been some flood damage to the Brooklands Motor Museum's Film Collection although it is not clear that this resulted from the recent severe weather.
Elsewhere, although there have been reports of the effects of flooding on the fixtures and fabric of museum and library buildings, collections seem to have been protected by good and quick-thinking management. This is to the enormous credit of all concerned.
It is of course the responsibility of museums', galleries' and libraries' governing bodies to assess the risk of damage to their collections from flooding and take steps to protect them.