Museum legacy

WHILE Ministers have become adept at sidestepping questions about cutbacks by telling those concerned that they will have to wait until next month's spending review, this response does not assuage those frontline workers with genuine fears about both their future – and that of the service which they provide.

This is exemplified by the funding dilemma confronting the National Coal Mining Museum and others. While free admission will be protected because it is part of a national network set up by New Labour to encourage people to visit, and use, such resources, any spending cuts are likely to be draconian.

Like Yorkshire's equally threatened and treasured national parks, these reductions will have a greater impact on those organisations with

smaller budgets and, therefore, less room for manoeuvre.

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Free entry has been a big success in opening up nationally-important museums, galleries and collections to the public. Their exhibits are part of Britain's heritage – and they should be open for all to enjoy.

This does not preclude museums from looking at how they can generate new revenue streams. If they do so, they will be far better placed to maintain standards and safeguard jobs. Pragmatism must prevail over the current mood of self-defeatism.

Equally, Ministers need to acknowledge that heritage and tourism have become key planks of the economy. It would be ironic, therefore, that the Conservatives, a party forever associated with the 1984 miners' strike, found themselves at loggerheads with this industry – this time over the possible imposition of cuts, or the imposition of ancillary charges, at a museum that is supposed to celebrate mining's proud record.