I am sure all noble Lords will agree that our national museums are truly exceptional. I can confirm that we are not considering any changes to free entry for UK nationals and residents. In response to the independent review of the Arts Council by my noble friend Lady Hodge, DCMS is working with the museum sector to explore potential opportunities for charging international visitors at national museums and galleries. This is a highly complex issue that requires detailed work with the sector before any evidence-based decisions are taken.
My Lords, it is disappointing that the Government are even considering this. They do not seem to realise what a precious, globally recognised brand universal free entry is. Apart from the negative logistical and financial implications of applying a selective charge, including the lack of universal ID, as the noble Baroness, Lady Hodge, has pointed out, would the Government not rather restore the grant in aid to its real-terms 2010 level? The 18% drop in money since then represents frankly peanuts in the overall economy, yet that funding is vital for the success of our national museums.
We are committed to supporting our national museums and to ensuring that art and culture are accessible, representative and shared across the country. Our £1.5 billion Arts Everywhere package ensures everyone has access to world-class culture. There are no current plans to reduce grant in aid, although I will say that we cannot prejudge spending reviews. We want to enable new income generation for our national museums, and we are going to be working with the museums to explore ideas for how this income could be used.
My Lords, as the co-chair of the Arts and Heritage All-Party Parliamentary Group, I will say that several institutions have expressed to me their many and varied concerns about how the introduction of the charging of international visitors might negatively affect not just them but the wider tourism and hospitality economy. I ask the Minister, what assessment are the Government going to make—or have they made any assessment—to allay the concerns about the wider economic consequences that this might have?
We are making sure that we work with the museums on this, not in isolation from them. Last week, for example, officials at DCMS sat down with representatives from all the national museums to talk through how the process might work, in terms of having a working group with the national museums. We are clear that it is a complex matter. It is not, “It’s right to, or it’s wrong to, or we should do this as a point of principle”: we just want to work through the issues with the museums. At the moment, we have been working through the terms of reference for what that working group would be looking at, and we are not planning to come to any conclusions before the autumn.
My Lords, the much-anticipated return of the Bayeux Tapestry to the UK, to be exhibited at the British Museum, reminds us of the value of sponsorship, philanthropy, cultural diplomacy, soft power and, on a more practical level, the need for conservation skills, and indeed curatorial ones. How do the Government intend to support such skills going forward? We welcome their curriculum review, but when are we going to see actual action that reverses the years of arts education and these skills being marginalised?
I am delighted, as I know the noble Baroness is, that the UK has been able to agree the loan with France of the Bayeux Tapestry. The noble Baroness correctly identified that skills are at the heart of any future policy. Every single conversation I have at every single institution I visit focuses on skills, and I have done a number of round tables around this. This particular area of curatorial skills is one that I know the museums are keen to explore. Getting our young children into museums is the first step in them stepping off on the journey of a career in the sector.
My Lords, HMRC’s own definition of free admission requires that the public can enter without pre-booking. Has the department taken legal advice on whether any charging scheme, even a partial one for foreigners, would disqualify museums from Section 33A of VAT relief entirely?
I thank the noble Lord for his really constructive engagement with me over the months I have been the Minister for this area. In terms of Section 33A, we are working across government and with the museums to understand the impacts. We will look to find solutions to any operational issues as the discussions take place over the coming weeks and months, and my officials are working with their counterparts in the Treasury.
My Lords, I am sure my noble friend would agree with me that the introduction of the free entry scheme by the Labour Government in 1997 was one of the glories of that Government’s achievements. It would be an enormous pity if that were to be diluted at this stage—although, of course, we all understand that the income streams museums are able to draw on are diminishing, and that the real-terms value of what they get in public funding has diminished since 2010. Can she expand a little on what other ways of increasing income streams she and her department are discussing with the museum sector to avoid having to put charging back on the agenda?
I agree that it has been an iconic policy. We are just at the very early stages of exploring this. However, we are clear that we should be looking at ways to increase access for all young people from underrepresented groups from the UK. Unfortunately, the most recent DCMS participation survey demonstrated that there are still geographical and economic disparities in terms of who visits our museums.
In terms of other income streams, we had a very interesting debate last week on philanthropy and I think we are going to see some major developments at the National Gallery as a result of that. Most museums are diversifying their economic and events work, and they are all exploring a whole range of ways. The Government have invested considerable amounts of money through our Arts Everywhere funding and schemes such as the museum renewal fund, which we delivered last year and was specifically around bringing resilience to some of our regional and civic museums.
My Lords, I think we all know that money is very tight and getting tighter. I am trying to understand why the very distinguished trustees, who are charged with governing these great institutions, cannot be trusted to decide themselves on the charging or non-charging policy.
This has been a national scheme, so we are working with the museums. Most museums would charge for special exhibitions. We are working with the museums to identify how this might work in practice. Clearly, one of the ways would be for museums to take a decision through their trustees.
My Lords, I note my interest as a steward of a modestly successful but long-standing private heritage enterprise in Devon. We compete with three national museums and galleries, as well as with well-heeled charities such as the National Trust, for tourists’ visits, both domestic and foreign. Do His Majesty’s Government agree that those institutions should not fear fair competition with privately owned heritage, which is a globally recognised strength of our national culture and identity?