Museumsstay freebut facetough time

NATIONAL museums will remain free but some of Yorkshire’s major museums will still have to make “tough decisions” after having funding trimmed by 15 per cent.

Bosses at the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield –who had warned of having to cut opening hours or consider charging for going down the pit, their star attraction – admitted they were relieved that a fierce lobbying campaign had spared them deeper cuts.

Despite the Department of Culture Media and Sport having its overall budget cut by 24 per cent, funding for National Museums – which also include York's National Railway Museum, Bradford’s National Media Museum and the Royal Armouries in Leeds – will be cut by 15 per cent over four years instead after the Government pledged to continue free admission.

However, the National Coal Mining Museum – which gets 2.8m a year from the Government – warned it is still set to face a cumulative deficit of 422,319 in four years time.

Museum director Dr Margaret Faull said: “We are extremely grateful to all the people who have campaigned so vigorously on our behalf. The Board of Trustees will need to make some tough decisions, but we are confident that a visit to the Museum will still be a worthwhile and enjoyable experience for the 120,000 people who visit each year.”

News of the settlement came after MPs met Culture Minister Ed Vaizey in Westminster on Tuesday, and the Government has told the museum it will not be allowed to charge for entry to the pit.

Jason McCartney, MP for Colne Valley, said: “It’s encouraging that the Secretary of State has looked at national museums - and in particular the National Coal Mining Museum – as special cases. He is very aware of the significance and cultural importance of the museum.”

However the Arts Council – whose administration budget will be cut by 50 per cent – reacted with dismay to the Government’s cuts, warning that it throws the country’s cultural provision into jeopardy.

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey said it was “a condition of the settlement” that the Arts Council ring-fences money to go to the groups it regularly supports and denied it was a breach of the arms-length principle that guarantees its independence.