Minister claims museums ‘will not close’ following funding deal

Ed Vaizey said yesterday a deal has been agreed which means museums budgets will be cut by less than the 10 per cent which the Science Museum Group had feared, and which bosses said would lead to the closure of either the National Media Museum in Bradford, the National Railway Museum in York or the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.

Funding for the National Coal Mining museum in Wakefield was also at risk from cuts to the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) in Chancellor George Osborne’s post-2015 spending review next week.

But Mr Vaizey said: “They (the museum group) are not going to receive those levels of cuts, so there is no reason why any of these museums should close.

“They won’t close. Let’s not beat about the bush; they won’t close.”

His words were warmly welcomed by campaigners across the North, although the decision was not confirmed by the science museum group.

A spokeswoman said: “We are encouraged by indications from DCMS about the level of funding settlement for 2015/16.

“We await confirmation of the actual details and clearly, until these are received, we cannot be certain about the structural deficit we face and which options will have to be considered.”

It is understood DCMS has agreed an eight per cent cut to its budget with the Treasury, but that museums cuts will be pegged back at five per cent.

However, that decision means tourism bodies are set to take a bigger hit as a result.

Chris Rodrigues, chairman of Visit Britain, said the UK risked throwing away the tourism legacy of the 2012 Olympics, comparing the cuts with telling Jess Ennis that Britain “can’t afford a javelin”.