Memorandum submitted by the National Trust
INTRODUCTION AND
SUMMARY
1. The National Trust welcomes the opportunity
to contribute to the House of Commons, Culture, Media and Sport
Committee Inquiry into Caring for our Collections. It comes
at a critical moment for the museums and galleries sector—a
moment when we are engaged with an emerging Museum's Strategy
with an accompanying action plan and are looking forward to the
forthcoming Government Comprehensive Spending Review. We do so
against a backdrop of a renaissance in the role of museums in
this country's cultural life as well as growing pressure on limited
fiscal investment in, and rising costs of, maintaining collections.
2. The Committee's inquiry is a welcome
opportunity to develop a broader understanding of the nature of
the museums sector, to recognise the role of museums across a
wide range of Government priorities and to understand what resources
are required to help the sector deliver wide public benefits.
3. This contribution is a follow on from
our previous submission to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Inquiry into Protecting and Preserving our Heritage earlier
this year. We would also refer you to the outcomes of the House
of Lords' Science and Technology Sub Committee Inquiry on Science
and Heritage to which the Trust gave evidence (written and
oral).
4. Our starting point is that museums make
an immense contribution to society beyond their traditionally
recognised role as collection managers and learning institutions.
We are not, however, currently making the most of this contribution
as a society and they face a range of threats and challenges which
make it all the more difficult to realise their potential. These
include threats to collections from sales and dispersals, the
challenges of conservation—which are increasing in face
of climate change—and the challenges of keeping pace with
changing consumer needs and aspirations to increase support and
engage existing and new audiences.
5. Our principal points and recommendations
are:
— the recent invest in museums through
Renaissance in the Regions, the Strategic Commissioning
Programme and the Lottery has been extremely welcome and had a
transformational impact on the sector. The benefits have been
particularly significant for the regional hubs and we now need
to extend them to small and medium museums, especially in rural
areas. This should recognise the special contribution made by
museums whose collections are "in context"—being
located in the places for which they were originally designed
or purchased;
— the costs of conserving collections
is in need of step change in support and more innovative approaches—this
is all the more important and significant when the effects of
climate change are taken into account. Public funding for permanent
endowment and support for specific conservation projects is needed;
— the contribution of voluntary sector
museums and of volunteering needs greater recognition and a strategic
approach to growing and sustaining this in future if they are
not to become a Cinderella when compared to the national museums
and those run by the public sector;
— broadening and sustaining the public
appeal of museums is vital but needs greater investment and long
term support from DCMS. This should seek to identify and grow
the public value provided by the museums sector;
— the Government should implement more
fully the recommendations of the Goodison Review to provide incentives
to retain collections and develop the role of "lifetime legacies"
to provide further ways of gifting works of art and collections
to the nation;
— whilst the DCMS has played a useful
role in promoting the interests of the museums sector through
the funding of MLA and the Renaissance in the Regions work,
the Department could do more to promote the public benefits museums
deliver. The forthcoming museums strategy should provide the basis
for this to take place so long as any action plan is properly
resourced and supported. In particular it should:
— set specific objectives and priorities
for collections care, raise standards across the sector and identify
clearer funding sources specifically for improving collections
care;
— encourage stronger links at regional
and national level between cultural sectors with overlapping responsibilities,
such as the historic environment, the arts and creative industries;
and
— look beyond the sponsoring relationship
of DCMS with the national and major municipal museums to fully
recognise the significant contribution made by the voluntary and
independent museum sector and makes provision for funding provision
and effective cross sector partnerships;
— a national cultural forum to inform
and oversee delivery of the work of the DCMS on the cultural agenda
should be established—involving key stakeholders and the
appropriate agencies.
THE ROLE
OF THE
NATIONAL TRUST
6. The National Trust is a major charitable
and voluntary sector museum organisation, owning and managing
over 200 historic sites with collections, of which 160 are historic
houses and 149 are registered museums (about 8.5% of the UK total).
As the largest accredited museums' authority in the country we
reflect the diversity of the museums' sector beyond the large
municipal organisations generally recognised by the public. Our
collections are both accessible and significant locally and amount
to a dispersed national collection when considered as a whole
within reach of all parts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
7. Housing an extraordinary treasury of
over one million objects, the Trust's world-class collections
demonstrate the UK's significant involvement in the arts, in trade
and industry and in world affairs. From major works of art to
everyday items, vast libraries to intriguing archaeological finds,
the Trust cares for a wealth of collections capturing human endeavour
over the ages. Of these the collections of furniture, paintings,
metalwork, ceramics and textiles are greatest in number and quality,
reflecting function, taste and patronage over many centuries.
The collections are international, with objects from Egypt, Greece,
China, India and elsewhere around the world. It includes a unique
collection of Huguenot silver at Dunham Massey, an Edwardian greengrocer's
"time-capsule" semi-detached home at Mr Straw's House
in Worksop, and Erno Goldfinger's modernist collection at 2 Willow
Road, London.
8. Most of the Trust's collections are the
"indigenous" contents of properties in its ownership,
which were either made for the property or have a long association
or historical link with it. Most also have important local historical
significance to their immediate communities. There is a great
deal of contextual information available, often documentary and
photographic archives, and where possible audio recordings made
of people's recollections of living or working at a house may
be made. The whole range of items associated with a property will
often be acquired, not just the most appealing or most valuable.
There is the added dimension within our properties that methods
of housekeeping used in the care of the collections are often
continuing a tradition which has existed for centuries. Many Trust
properties are also an ensemble of historic house, parkland, gardens
and wider functional estates, forming part of the fabric of the
communities in which they are located. Thus the Trust is well
placed to demonstrate how museums can help foster powerful links
between individuals, communities, and their own heritage.
9. Following accreditation of the National
Trust as a museum authority in December 2005, we are focusing
our efforts on ensuring properties are meeting required standards
in governance; user services including information; interpretation
and learning; visitor facilities and collections management.
10. The sections below answer the questions
set out in the call for evidence:
1. Funding, with particular reference to the
adequacy of the budget for museums, galleries and archives, and
the impact of the London 2012 Olympics on Lottery funding for
their sector
11. Despite increasing evidence of the public
value of museums, the National Trust face the same problems as
others in a sector beset by mounting costs, growing liabilities,
increasingly high visitor expectations and threats to funding
and resources. Significantly, as a registered charity, we have
no direct core funding from the Government, but rely upon self-generated
income from endowments, estate management, membership subscriptions,
legacies, gifts and grants—making the support of our volunteers
all the more vital.
12. We have five key concerns about the
adequacy of funding: the need to broaden the current scope and
reach of Government support for museums; a step change in budgets
to support the care of our collections; strategic support for
museum volunteers; greater support to help the sector address
the challenges of maintaining and broadening audiences; and greater
clarity in how the sector can best develop a successful package
for the museum sector's contribution to the Olympics.
BROADENING THE
REACH OF
CURRENT SUPPORT
13. Recent sources of funding for the museums
sector (including the Strategic Commissioning scheme, the Renaissance
in the Regions programme and the Lottery) have been welcome. They
have provided a vital source of support for the sector both in
terms of capacity building for the profession and in adding value
to educational and engagement programmes. For example, funding
from the DCMS/DfES strategic commissioning scheme has created
vibrant new learning and interpretation projects at two Trust
properties—Beningbrough and Montacute—that work with
the National Portrait Gallery. Other assistance we have received
includes support for acquisitions. This includes the MLA/V&A
Purchase Grant Fund of over £6,000 which we used towards
the cost of acquiring four portrait paintings which we were then
able to return to Rufford Old Hall, where they had originally
hung.
14. We have received less funding through
Renaissance in the Regions and the impact through the Phase
1 Hubs has varied considerably. The main benefit has been the
opportunity for skills training for our staff and we have also
received a number of grants through the Regional Small Grants
Scheme, such as storage cabinets at Cherryburn. While Renaissance
in the Regions is welcomed, the Hubs appear to be operating quite
differently from one another and from our experience, there is
something of a lottery for who receives funding and support. This
appears to be more dependent on contacts and professional relationships
rather than a strategic approach to prioritised needs. It is important
that this initiative is now taken to the next layer of museums
which have not yet been reached and we would like to see DCMS
ensure that future programmes extend their impact beyond the current
beneficiaries to small and medium museums, particularly in rural
areas and to those which provide collections in context.
A STEP CHANGE
IN SUPPORT
FOR THE
CONSERVATION OF
COLLECTIONS
15. Our second concern relates to the challenges
of the conservation backlog for our collections. This is already
significant and has a potential to increase in light of climate
change. Museums will only remain assets if we can maintain the
collections and buildings which hold them in an adequate condition.
In our response to the initial inquiry of the Committee and the
House of Lords Inquiry on Science and Heritage we have given much
evidence of the endeavours involved in caring for our museums.
The Trust has a world-wide reputation for its expertise in collections
care with our Manual of Housekeeping seen as the reference
source for many conservators worldwide. Providing collections
and building conservation of this standard comes at a high price
in terms of human and capital resources. We have an estimated
backlog of conservation work that amounts to £75 million
for our collections alone. For example, just one seventeenth-century
tapestry from Blickling Hall will take approximately 16 months
to repair, with four people working on it at a cost of £90,000.
We have attached a brief summary of the costs for the Trust of
caring for our collections.
16. This investment is worth it, not only
for the intrinsic value of these collections but also because
of their popularity and the wider benefits they can bring. Our
work at Tyntesfield in Somerset is demonstrating that there is
considerable public support for the long-term conservation of
such collections and works of art, and, in particular, where people
are actively engaged in understanding or undertaking the costly
process of conservation themselves. We would like to see DCMS
help the sector build capacity to maintain collections and address
the backlog of conservation needs, including through the potential
of public funding to provide for permanent endowment to care for
collections as well as support for specific conservation projects.
17. It is also important when considering
the long-term care of collections that the effects of climate
change are anticipated, to minimise the effects of flooding, torrential
rainfall, increased summer temperatures, increased levels of UV
radiation, and increase in museum pests. Museums will also need
to reduce their energy consumption in response to climate change.
All of these challenges have budgetary considerations for both
individual museums and the sector as a whole. We believe that
the museums sector, alongside other economic sectors, needs to
develop an adaptation framework, working in partnership with others.
This should be based on further research which identifies key
risks and establishes an action plan for museums most at risk.
The DCMS Emergency Planning Group for London and the regional
initiatives of certain MLA's, such as the NE and NW in setting
up co-ordinated networks to address shared concerns of Emergency
Preparedness and Emergency Response are a step in the right direction.
We would like to see this initiative extended to all regional
MLA's. The Dutch model, of encouraging all museums in a given
city to address their emergency plans at the same time, and presenting
them ceremonially to the mayor, is an interesting one.
STRATEGIC SUPPORT
FOR MUSEUM
VOLUNTEERS
18. The care and provision of access to
our collections requires the support of over 12,000 volunteers,
providing many opportunities for informal involvement or specialist
training for people of all ages. Without them we would be unable
to open up our places to the public as we do. Across the Trust
volunteers contribute 2.5 million hours of their time each year
and undertake a diverse variety of tasks: including welcoming
visitors and interpreting our properties; conservation cleaning;
archiving and research; and running learning and formal education
events. This is equivalent to £16.3 million a year in equivalent
staff costs. But our volunteers provide much more than a real
costs saving. Where volunteers are encouraged to form their own
supporter groups, they can also prove effective fundraisers and
advocates for museums. Encouraging engagement with collections
through volunteering can also play a significant role in attracting
new audiences to museums and galleries. Volunteers also typically
bring local knowledge and understanding to the museums, so enhancing
the visitor experience and our understanding of the significance
of collections. At the Back to Backs in Birmingham using volunteer
local guides and their real-life experiences delivers a much more
rewarding visit. In return they get a chance to put something
back into the community, to make a difference and to make friends.
We would like to see a strategic approach to growing and sustaining
museum volunteering in future (see paragraph 31).
MAINTAINING AND
BROADENING PUBLIC
SUPPORT
19. A key objective of DCMS is to broaden
the audience and increase engagement with priority groups. Widening
and engaging support can be resource intensive, particularly if
they are with new audiences and many of the best projects we have
been involved with have been entirely reliant on one off funding.
The lack of long-term investment in this work to allow the connections
generated to become established is a major obstacle. For example,
whilst the HLF-funded Untold Story projects helped the properties
involved develop a more meaningful relationship with previously
disengaged local communities, the costs of doing so for the Trust
was well over £150,000 beyond the project funding. This investment
supports the required staff time and commitment to building relationships,
organisation of specific activities as part of a tailored offer,
training requirements and in many cases the need for professional
expertise. We would like to see the new museums' strategy make
a commitment to work with funding bodies such as HLF to improve
provision and develop new funding models for organisations who
wish to collaborate on outreach projects so they can sustain relationships
with new users beyond the lifetime of individual projects.
A WINNING PACKAGE
FOR MUSEUMS
AND THE
OLYMPICS
20. We believe the Olympics in 2012 presents
both opportunities and threats to the cultural sector. Making
the most of any opportunities beyond the national museums in London
will be difficult and unless this issue is tackled jointly by
the sector, DCMS and the Olympic team there are risks that attention
and resources will be diverted elsewhere.
2. Acquisition and disposal policies with
particular reference to due diligence obligations on acquisition
and legal restrictions on disposal of objects
21. In terms of collecting our remit is
clear: indigenous collections, with a few exceptions where houses
may have been acquired without indigenous contents. It is the
Trust's policy to secure by gift, bequest, transfer or purchase
the contents of the properties it owns. We also acquire items
specifically for more short-term purposes until specific indigenous
items can be acquired, and also items for handling collections.
Our Acquisition and Disposal policy is attached (Appendix 1).
22. The benefits museums provide depend
fundamentally on being able to keep and care for collections.
While some safeguards exist to address the loss of single prestigious
objects to overseas markets, there is little to address the loss
and dispersal of collections from their local or historical context.
The insured value of loaned contents on display in our properties,
and at risk of dispersal, is currently £200m and at 50 properties
we own less than half of the collections on display. We are disappointed
that so little progress has been made since the publication of
the Goodison Review "Securing the Best for Museums: Private
Giving and Government Support" on developing new financial
incentives. As a major recipient of private legacies, we believe
that there are significant opportunities to attract new private
funds into the sector in ways that bring clear social benefits
and sustain the "assets" for the long term.
23. The Acceptance in Lieu (AIL) mechanism,
which enables works of art and historic chattels to be offered
to the nation in lieu of tax has proved to be powerful tool, attracting
owners keen to safeguard their collections in perpetuity whilst
reducing tax bills. Last year we received chattels worth well
over £5,000,000. For example, through this process we secured
for the benefit of the nation a Morris & Co. secretaire (Ickworth,
Suffolk) and an important group of 10 paintings by artists such
as Palma Vecchio, Van der Velde, Ramsay, and Romney (Penrhyn Castle,
Gwynedd). By acquiring the above-mentioned four portraits for
Rufford Old Hall and two paintings by Sir Winston Churchill (Chartwell,
Kent) via private treaty, we also benefited from £93,000
in tax relief. There has been resistance to extending such measures
on the basis that too few people are seen to benefit. Addressing
this perception and increasing understanding of the public benefits
of looking after objects and collections will help move the focus
of debate from the tax benefits offered to owners to the public
benefits provided by access to objects and collections.
24. We would like to see the Government
implement more fully the recommendations of the Goodison Review
to provide incentives to retain collections and develop the role
of "lifetime legacies" in providing further ways of
gifting works of art and collections to the nation.
25. Museums should retain autonomy over
their collections, their collecting policy, and decide ultimately
on their own priorities, combining, or accepting centrally-determined
priorities if these are acceptable to the museum and their stake
holders. We would not normally favour the concept of joint ownership
of acquisitions but welcome the concept of combined storage facilities,
and indeed the National Trust already lodges property archives
with local record offices, where they may be viewed.
26. While the Trust believes that most benefit
can be gained by experiencing collections in the context of their
surroundings, we also recognise that there are advantages to making
such collections available to a wider audience in different geographical
locations. In this way visitors and staff can draw useful comparisons
from seeing objects alongside other related objects. We regularly
loan our collections to local and international exhibitions and
would welcome a framework for promoting such exhibitions more
coherently across the sector.
27. The Trust differs from many other museums
in that only a small percentage of its collections are in store,
while the great proportion are on open display. However we welcome
the proposal to look at sharing storage facilities with other
organisations, which could incorporate elements of open storage
and other forms of access. We believe there would be particular
benefits from developing shared stores for archaeological material
for which there is currently insufficient provision across the
UK, leading to inconsistent systems and access. There are examples
of good local initiatives, such as at Corfe Castle in Dorset,
where the material supports an interpretative display and handling
collection, and is stored in renovated buildings which would otherwise
fall into disuse. The benefits of open storage are clear at a
number of museums, such as the Museum of Science and Industry
in Manchester, where open storage allows a visitor to see more
of the collection than they would otherwise be able to do, but
we would welcome more support in these areas.
28. Museums are beginning to grapple with
disposal for example through the Museums Association's current
consultation on disposal. We believe that to deal effectively
with disposal more than the legal framework needs to change. The
presumption against disposal is written into the ethical guidelines
and drummed into all good museum professionals and so a cultural
shift is necessary. We would like to suggest the Trust's approach
to disposal as an example of how the sector may tackle this. While
not a holding collection as such the Trust does acquire on occasions
items on a temporary basis for a given property, until a more
suitable item, or an indigenous example becomes available. These
collections are recognised within the National Trusts's Acquisition
and Disposal policy as being "untied" items/contents.
Sometimes these items are acquired on the understanding that they
may be disposed of and the proceeds used for the other purposes.
Such bequests and purchases are potential financial assets and
are not part of the Trust's permanent collection. When acquiring
such items from benefactors their intended use is made clear,
and agreement for such is obtained from the donor. They are in
effect non accessioned temporary furnishings, though may be of
high quality. We do however believe that whilst disposal is an
important issue it has less significance for the sector than the
other challenges mentioned above.
3. The remit and effectiveness of DCMS, the
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and other relevant organisations
in representing cultural interests inside and outside Government
29. In our earlier submission we highlighted
our concerns regarding DCMS's overall role in representing and
supporting cultural heritage interests across Government and beyond.
The Committee's report into this initial inquiry was therefore
welcome and we look forward to DCMS's response. Encouragingly,
our experience in relation to museums is more positive, though
not without need for improvement. DCMS is making positive efforts
to connect with the whole sector, for example through using the
MLA to run programmes such as Renaissance in the Regions and through
the development of the current strategy (see below), although
there is still significant scope for more of a partnership approach.
In our experience the AIL and Export Review Panels with DCMS are
well run with the process both intellectually rigorous and efficient.
We hope to see an allocation of appropriate resources for these
to remain effective and to provide greater value for the sector.
30. The responses and recommendations from
the museum sector to the consultations Understanding the future
of Museums and Collections for the Future are a useful
starting point for how the Government may work with the sector
in the future. Whilst aiming to have a strategy that is realistic
and pragmatic is clearly laudable, we do have some concerns that
it may prove to be lacking in ambition and scope for the sector
as a whole. In particular, DCMS risks missing opportunities to
represent cultural interests beyond the role the Department plays
in sponsoring national museums and major municipal museums. The
museum sector is diverse, including national museums, large and
small local authority museums, small charity museums and the National
Trust. It is vital that the opportunity is taken to build on the
good will of the sector expressed in the responses and the advances
made through Renaissance in the Regions to draw the sector
together in common aims. Any future arrangements should recognise
the broad customer base of the sector and give due consideration
to the contribution and needs of voluntary sector museums. These
museums add up to a huge "national" collection across
a wide geographical area, and deliver wide benefits to their local
and national communities. DCMS and MLA need to find ways to support
their work as equal partners and to learn lessons from how other
Government agencies manage their relationship with the voluntary
and community sector.
31. We are also hoping that the forthcoming
strategy will recognise the reliance the sector has on volunteers,
particularly though the independent museums sector. Volunteers
cannot be taken for granted. They are expecting more from their
donation of time and demographic changes means we need to plan
for different volunteers in the future. In attracting the next
generation of volunteers, museums will need to give careful thought
to meeting their needs and expectations, by providing a menu of
roles, embedding minimum standards and providing effective management
and training. Any future action plan for the museum sector should
include a requirement to work closely with volunteering agencies
to fund and develop guidance, support and training for the management
of museum volunteers.
32. We would also like to see the same action
plan help the sector to tackle the challenge for the professions
in terms of training and skills. Real steps have been made in
the provision of good quality training and development opportunities
for museum professionals. Our partnership in the HLF/ICON bursary
scheme is helping contribute to addressing skills shortages but
there is a persistent shortage of skills amongst both professionals
and volunteers. There is a particular need for more opportunities
for museum professionals to gain experience of management and
leadership and in developing engagement skills. Access to educational
funding could be increased to broaden the apprenticeship model
so that it includes post-graduate internships and mid-career training,
and develops the practical skills and specialisms needed to fill
current skills shortages. Leadership training is a particular
need. The Clore Fellowship and the Museums Leadership course (run
by UEA Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts) have proved very successful.
We would like to see more leadership courses established with
support from regional MLAs. Mentoring is another valuable means
of encouraging and supporting leadership training and we welcome
new initiatives to support this.
33. Under-representation of minority ethnic
and other excluded groups in the workforce and governance of cultural
organisations is also a real concern for the sector that needs
to be addressed. We would like to see the MLA and the Museums
Association provide more positive-action training schemes such
as the Diversify programme, requiring greater funding allocated
for this.
34. The museums' sector is a disparate body
of public, private and voluntary organisations on a national,
regional and local scale. In recent years sector bodies, including
DCMS, MLA, the Museums Association, the Association of Independent
Museums and the National Museum Directors' Conference have been
effective in raising the profile of museums and building a coherent
case for support, especially from Government. We believe there
is a need to address the confusion about roles and to ensure greater
clarity over which is the lead body and the ultimate champion
to Government. The changes made in the devolution of certain responsibilities
from DCMS to MLA, such as AIL, will help to clarify responsibilities
and streamline activities. The National Trust believes that the
MLA should be the lead statutory body for this sector and as such
needs to demonstrate greater and more confident leadership whilst
recognising the important role it already plays and the progress
that has been made. In particular it needs to drive the development
of a coherent strategy and stronger policy development to meet
the needs of this sector.
35. We would also like to see stronger links
made by DCMS and MLA with those sectors with overlapping responsibilities,
such as the historic environment, the arts and creative industries.
The MLA appears to have a limited relationship with English Heritage
and we would like to see the MLA commit to working with English
Heritage and other heritage and arts sector bodies—to share
resources and expertise; establish common objectives; and provide
wider support for the wider sector. We would like to see DCMS
establish a national cultural forum—drawing on the experience
of the English Regional Cultural Consortia—to coordinate
and develop cross sector activity and policy development and delivery.
36. In our experience, effective links between
individual museums are best made at the local level, with regional
support where necessary. The role of the Museums, Libraries and
Archives Council at the regional level is an important catalyst
to bringing partners together in England. We have worked successfully
with the West Midlands Hub on providing training and we see great
potential for the Renaissance in the Regions Museum Hubs
as a valuable resource for joint working and training. The hub
museums and museum development officers are an excellent resource
and could be used more to improve standards and help shape policy.
37. We also believe there needs to be clearer
direction for how the Specialist Networks might strengthen and
develop their role. The close professional links we have with
other historic house museums and cultural organisations could
be encouraged to develop further. For example, training programmes
developed by Hubs such as the West Midlands Hub, Renaissance
at Work, could be extended to all regions and joint schemes
developed between historic house museums and museums hubs to train
staff in the care of historic houses and their collections and
promote and encourage effective leadership.
The National Trust
October 2006
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