Culture, Media and Sport CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by Dr Patrick Greene

I directed the development of the Museum of Science and Industry in the Manchester from its inception in 1983 until I took up my current position as Chief Executive Officer of Museum Victoria, Australia’s largest museum organisation, in 2002. The project was initiated by Greater Manchester Council as a means of creating a new museum that would attract visitors and help transform the derelict Castlefield area in central Manchester. The rescue and reuse of the buildings of the world’s oldest railway station provided an opportunity to tell the story of Manchester as world’s first industrial city. After two decades at the helm I was proud to have played my part in a project that had proved a success in urban regeneration, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors and winning over 50 national and international awards. I was very concerned to hear of the threat to close the Museum (or one of the other northern museums) if the Science Museum suffered a 10% cut to its finances. I understand that the cut will be 5% and that the threat has been lifted. However, a 5% reduction in finances is large, especially in light of a series of cuts to the Science Museum’s budget and it will face the organisation with difficult choices as it attempts to achieve a balanced budget.

Following the abolition of Greater Manchester Council in 1986, funding for the Museum of Science and Industry was assumed by the then Department of National Heritage (later the DCMS). The arrangement worked very well during the entire period that I led the Museum, with the governance of the charitable trust/limited liability company board to which I reported. A topic that the committee might wish to examine is whether the withdrawal of DCMS funding and subsequent merger in to the Science Museum Group has placed the Museum in a more vulnerable position that might otherwise have been the case.

The Museum of Science and Industry plays a vital role in the cultural life of Manchester; it is a very important educational resource in the essential task of attracting young people to science and technology studies and careers, and it is a significant tourist attraction. Furthermore, as a site with a group of historic buildings that commemorate the beginning of the Railway Age, it has enormous historic significance. Railways were a British invention that transformed the world- providing, I hope, inspiration for the present day as well. I am pleased that the Select Committee is addressing the issue of funding and I would be willing to provide any further evidence that the members might require.

June 2013