“On behalf of England’s regional museum sector, the English Civic Museum Network (ECMN) welcomes the Government’s announcement of £270M into the sector including £20M investment to support regional civic museums. ECMN is delighted that the Government has recognised the compelling case for investment in local museums as part of its growth agenda. This critical funding will help to stabilise the sector which has seen real terms reductions in funding of almost 40% over the last decade. In an economic landscape that remains challenging this vital support will help to prevent closures and enable us to better serve our communities across England.
Civic museums are a fundamental part of England’s cultural, creative, and social fabric and are a catalyst for growth on all our high streets, generating £3 of economic output for every £1 in funding they receive. We care for phenomenal internationally significant collections spanning art and archaeology to natural science and industrial heritage. These collections and the work we do ignites the imaginations of millions of children and young people every year, nurtures home-grown talent, and helps people to make connections with each other and the world around them. In delivering these extraordinary cultural experiences, civic museums attract people, businesses and investment, helping our towns and cities to thrive.
ECMN look forward to working with Government and Arts Council England to harness the innovation, adaptability, and resilience of our sector and to ensure that civic museums have a sustainable role in the regeneration of our towns and cities and in the cultural lives of our communities for generations to come.”
Jon Finch, Chair of ECMN
Notes
There are 413 ‘local authority reliant’ museums overseen by 226 different governing bodies in England which account for 31% of all accredited museums[i]. Total expenditure on museums and galleries across the UK decreased by 16% in cash terms and 36.7% in real terms between 2010 and 2022. Since 2000 more than a 140 Local Authority museums have closed. As a percentage of Total Service Expenditure this meant a decrease from 0.21% in 2009/10 to 0.16% in 2022/23. Museums however make up a tiny proportion of overall council spend yet deliver huge benefits for health and wellbeing, education, rehabilitation, social cohesion and community engagement, they support jobs and skills, tourism and regional growth and support pride in place. ECMN represents x of these services and museums……
Art Fund’s annual survey of UK museum directors revealed that in 2022 half were concerned about funding shortfalls, and that figure is now two thirds. In the last year almost a third of museums reliant on Local Authority funding saw that funding either decrease or stop completely.
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