Hampshire County Council

Executive Member - Recreation and Heritage Item 1

4 April 2002

The Future Trusteeship of the Aldershot Military Historical Trust

Report of the Director, Museums Service

Contact: Stephen Locke, Ext: 6300

1. Summary

1.1 The following decision is sought:

That Hampshire County Council accept sole trusteeship of the Aldershot Military Historical Trust.

2. Reason

2.1 The Aldershot Military Historical Trust is the charitable trust which founded Aldershot Military Museum and Rushmoor Local History Gallery. The Museum is wholly funded by Hampshire County Council and Rushmoor Borough Council and managed under a Joint Management Agreement by Hampshire County Council Museums Service. The Joint Management Committee recommend that Hampshire County Council becomes the sole trustee.

3. Other options considered and rejected

3.1 That Hampshire County Council does not accept trusteeship. That Hampshire County council and Rushmoor Borough Council become joint trustees.

4. Conflicts of interest

4.1 Not applicable.

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee

5.1 Not applicable.

6. Reason for the matter being dealt with if urgent

6.1 Not applicable

Approved by: ............................ Date of decision: .....................

Councillor T K Thornber

Hampshire County Council

Executive Member - Recreation and Heritage Item 1

4 April 2002

The Future Trusteeship Of The Aldershot Military Historical Trust

Report Of The Director, County Museums Service

Contact: Stephen Locke, Ext 6300

1. Introduction

1.1 The Aldershot Military Historical Trust (AMHT) has formally requested that the local authority partners to the Joint Management Committee to become sole trustees of the Aldershot Military Historical Trust.

1.2 The view of the AMHT is that the initial objective of the Trust has been secured. This was the creation of a museum to represent the military history of Aldershot. All the funding for the Museum is provided through a Joint Management Agreement between Hampshire County Council and Rushmoor Borough Council and it is managed by the Hampshire County Museums Service. There has been substantial capital development of the Museum in recent years, culminating in the new John Reed Gallery with the help of the Heritage Lottery Fund. All these measures have established the Museum on a firm footing.

1.3 Throughout these developments, the Museum has evolved in such a way as to be locally relevant and to appeal to the widest possible audience.

1.4 Furthermore, because of the changes in the profile of the Army in Aldershot, the military community will find it increasingly difficult to provide trustees with the necessary local and historical background. The role, status, management and funding of the Museum is now better expressed and safeguarded by trusteeship being held by Hampshire County Council.

2. The local authorities : policy background

2.1 The Aldershot Military Historical Museum was founded under the leadership of Brig John Read who acted as Honorary Curator until his untimely death.

2.2 The local authorities encouraged and supported the Museum from the outset. Hampshire County Council provided financial support through its defence heritage policy, which is concerned to protect the defence heritage and local economies from threats arising as a result of changes in MoD policy.

2.3 Rushmoor Borough Council wished to see the Museum developed as a local amenity, in partnership with Hampshire County Council under the aegis of the County Museums Service.

2.4 When Brig Read died the local authorities provided revenue funding to establish a full-time professional curator. On 1 April 1988 a Joint Management Agreement (JMA), modelled on the common pattern for all the jointly managed museums in the County Service was agreed, with the inclusion of representatives of the AMHT as members of the Joint Management Committee (JMC).

2.5 It is important to recognize the legal accountabilities which underpin the JMA. The JMC is a management board which only has such responsibilities as are delegated to it by the partners to the JMA. The role of the representatives constituting the JMC is to oversee the management of the museum such that it reflects the policies of the partners, and to request the partners to commit the necessary resources (chiefly the revenue budget) which ensures the continuance of the Museum.

2.6 The Joint Management Committee does not therefore own any of the assets of the Museum, although in practice all three partners devolve management to the JMC within well established policy and financial parameters.

3. The assets of the Trust

3.1 A summary of the current ownership and management of the assets of the Museum is as follows.

3.2 The site and buildings: the site and main buildings are owned by MoD and leased to the Aldershot Military Historic Trust for 25 years. Within the context of the JMA, Hampshire County Council provide maintenance of the buildings which are treated as part of the County Council's corporate estate. The core buildings are the only two surviving original brick barrack buildings in Aldershot built in 1894. It was proposed in 2001 that Hampshire County council should take over the lease of the site and core buildings (to which MoD has said it would agree) but a decision was deferred until the issue of trusteeship was resolved. The other building on the site is a large wooden building which was re-located from Field Marshall Montgomery's house at Isington Mill, East Hampshire. This was funded by, and is owned by Hampshire County Council. This re-location of an historic building has been very successful, and the re-location of a second building (a guardhouse) is due to be completed by June 2002.

3.3 The collections : the core of the military historical collections is owned by the AMHT. There is some material on loan which is being regularized by return or gift to the County Museums Service (or in some cases returned to the owner). The chief part of the local and social history collections is owned by the local authorities. Under the JMA, ownership of material acquired subsequent to the Agreement is vested in Hampshire County Council. Some local material `the Rushmoor Collection' pre-dates the JMA and is owned by Rushmoor Borough Council.

In practice, all of the collections are managed as an integrated whole by the Museums Service, which also contributes relevant material from the County Collections,

3.4 The staff : the staff are employed by Hampshire County Council and charged to the Joint Management budget.

4. Trusteeship

4.1 The AMHT is entirely typical of charitable trusts set up to preserve the heritage for the education of the public. Trusteeship requires the exercise of duties and obligations solely for the purposes of the Trust. Preservation by itself is not (at the moment) a charitable function; education of the public is a charitable objective; which is why both preservation and education are essential objectives of the Trust.

4.2 The AMHT is also a company limited by guarantee and registered as a charity, which means it must conform to specified accounting and reporting procedures in addition to the requirements of the Charity Commission.

4.3 The AMHT has fully met the objectives of the Trust and is not in debt or under any scrutiny or obligation outside of the usual charitable and company requirements nor under any other special liability to a 3^rd party.

4.4 The objectives of the AMHT are fully in line with the policy aims of the local authorities in respect of the heritage, museums and education. The County Council is sole trustee of 4 trusts for which it has taken responsibility through the development of the Museums Service. The assets of these trusts include land, buildings, collections and funds and the County Council has an established mechanism for the transparent exercise of trusteeship and reporting to the Charity Commission.

The Executive Member of Recreation and Heritage acts as the trustee for the County Council.

None of these trusts is a limited company, which is an inappropriate structure when the trust is managed through the County Council's normal departmental structure.

5. Benefits of the transfer of trusteeship to the local authorities

5.1 All of the assets and all of the responsibilities related to provision of the management of the museum are brought together under a single and simpler form of governance.

5.2 The responsibility for the core of the assets and achieving the educational aims to the Trust become the responsibility of the authorities which are providing the necessary funding.

5.3 The continuance of trusteeship is vested in permanent local and democratic institutions.

5.4 The administration by the Trust will be simplified and it need not be operated as a company.

6. Possible dis-benefits of a transfer of trusteeship

6.1 The local authorities accept ultimate responsibility for the care of the assets, and objects of the Trust. As things stand, technically the local authorities could relinquish responsibility to the Trust.

6.2 There is a potential loss of independent and voluntary support for the museum from the military community which largely fosters it. Although the military profile and status of Aldershot is changing, the connection with the Army is fundamental and should be nurtured.

7. Discussion and conclusion

7.1 The AMHT has requested the local authorities to accept trusteeship of the AMHT.

7.2 The assets of the Trust are all currently maintained, and the objectives achieved, through funding provided by the local authorities.

7.3 The local authorities own a significant proportion of the assets (collections and buildings) which are an integral element of the Museum.

7.4 The objectives of the Trust harmonize with the policy aims of the local authorities.

7.5 There is an established and successful track record of partnership which has led to the development of an innovative and progressive Museum which reaches a wide audience and provides high quality services.

7.6 The transfer of trusteeship could almost be regarded as a legal regularization of the existing position except in two regards:

- Trusteeship of a collection and assets is a particular and defined responsibility quite distinct from a general policy to provide services by the local authorities,

- the existing Trusteeship particularly links the military community to the Museum.

7.7 In response to the first point, it is the case that many trusts are imbedded in the structure of local authority services, including the Museums Service. There have been no problems arising from this and some opportunities are created.

7.8 The local authorities will wish to consider whether accepting trusteeship will restrict their choices to reduce or cease funding the Museum and the maintenance of the assets. In a legal sense, they will become solely responsible for all the assets and objectives of the Trust. In a more general sense however, the practical position is little changed. The local authorities already fund all the work of the Trust and have done for many years. A decision to reduce or withdraw funding is in any event a decision to reduce the services of the Museum or close it down. The local authorities in practice are already accountable for that decision. If they did decide to take such action, as trustees, then they would need to satisfy the Charity Commission about the winding-up of the Trust and the disposal of assets. In practice this would be little different from their obligations (general, legal, public, and ethical) if they closed any of the museums they owned which do not involve charitable trusts.

7.9 On the other side, it may be pointed out that Hampshire County Council becomes able to fully control all the assets (within charitable requirements) which increases their powers of governance and discretion (in pursuance of the object of the Trust).

7.10 In response to the second point the Museums Service always seeks to strengthen links with stakeholders, not the reverse. The military community should remain strong supporters of the Museum and may provide collections, services, resources, personal and institutional support, which however limited, may be very beneficial. If trusteeship is transferred, there should be a mechanism established for an effective ongoing link with the military community.

7.11 Finally, there is an issue as to whether, if trusteeship is transferred, a local authority trustee is appointed, Rushmoor Borough Council and Hampshire County Council become joint trustees, or whether one of the local authorities becomes sole trustee. The Joint Management Committee recommend that Hampshire County Council should be the sole trustee to be consistent with other trusts and for the sake of simplicity.

7.12 The Joint Management Agreement between Hampshire County Council and Rushmoor Borough Council will be unaffected by the change in trusteeship.

8. Recommendations

That Hampshire County Council accept the sole trusteeship of the Aldershot Military Historical Trust.