Cuts crisis museumsmay start selective charging

Jonathan Reed Political Editor

MUSEUM bosses in Yorkshire have warned that charges for some attractions may be necessary to reduce the blow if Ministers go through with severe funding cuts which could slash opening hours and jobs.

The National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield has launched a fierce lobbying campaign amid fears its 2.8m Government grant could be cut by almost a third, which could force it to close one day a week.

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While Ministers insist general admission must remain free, bosses have asked if they would be allowed to charge for its star attraction – going down one of Britain’s oldest working mines.

The organisation which runs York’s National Railway Museum and Bradford’s National Media Museum is also “planning for a range of scenarios” and has refused to rule out changes to opening times as it waits to find out how badly the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) budget is cut in the Comprehensive Spending Review.

The Royal Armouries in Leeds is also facing the threat of its Government grant being cut by 25 to 30 per cent as Ministers take radical action to tackle the budget deficit.

The threat to museum grants comes as Ministers negotiate with the Treasury over budgets for the next four years, with the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review due to be revealed on October 20.

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Institutions categorised as national museums – which includes the National Coal Mining Museum, National Railway Museum, National Media Museum and the Royal Armouries in Yorkshire – offer free admission, and Ministers have been keen to insist that will continue.

They receive grants directly from Government but DCMS officials have written to them enquiring about the possible impact of funding cuts of 25 to 30 per cent.

The department itself is threatened with cuts of up to 40 per cent.

Dr Margaret Faull, director of the National Coal Mining Museum, which attracts 120,000 visitors a year, briefed politicians on the situation this week and has written to every MP in a coalfield constituency urging their support to protect funding. She said the threat was “very serious”, and cross-party MPs are seeking a meeting with Culture Minister Ed Vaizey.

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The museum costs up to 3.3m a year to run, partly because the pit legally has to be manned as if it was still in operation.

Dr Faull said a cut of up to 30 per cent to its 2.8m grant would mean job losses among the 108 workforce and possibly closing one day a week. The museum has asked whether charging would be permitted for visitors wishing to go underground but has not yet received a response, although it is feared this could hit visitor numbers.

“None of the other museums have got an underground pit and have to maintain it,” she said. “The amount we get is already chicken feed compared to most of the other national museums.”

Rother Valley’s Labour MP Kevin Barron said it would be “devastating” if children were no longer able to visit.

“What’s unique about the

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