Archived decisions
Hampshire County Council
Executive Member - Recreation and Heritage Item 8
19 February 2003
Museums and Archives : financial support to independent and voluntary organizations
Report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage
D R A F T
Contact: Stephen Locke Ext. 6700
Contact: Stephen Locke Ext. 6700
1. Summary
The following decision is sought:
That financial support totalling £61,800 be provided to voluntary and independent museums and archive organizations and that authority be delegated to the Director of Recreation and Heritage to allocate the small discretionary grants.
2. Reason
To implement the museums strategy and support the work of Hampshire Record Office.
3. Other options considered and rejected
Providing little or no funding
4. Conflicts of interest declared by the decision maker or a member or officer consulted
None.
5. Dispensation
Not applicable
6. Reasons for matter being dealt with, if urgent
Not applicable.
Approved by: (signature) Date: (date of decision)
................................ ................................
Cllr. J. Waddington
Hampshire County Council
Executive Member - Recreation and Heritage Item 8
19 February 2003
Museums and Archives : financial support to independent and voluntary organizations
Report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage
Contact: Stephen Locke Ext. 6700
1. Introduction
1.1 The Recreation and Heritage budget provides for revenue grants to voluntary and independent museums and archive related organizations which support the aims of the museums strategy and the work of Hampshire Record Office.
1.2 The museum strategy was adopted by the Executive Member on 18 July 2002 upon the recommendation of the Recreation and Heritage Policy Review Committee. The proposals for grant in 2003/04 are in line with the strategy.
1.3 From 2002/03, the budget is increased by a transfer of a base budget of £30,000 from the Policy and Resources (grants to voluntary organizations) budget in respect of long-standing revenue support for museums which are now more appropriately considered by the Executive Member for Recreation and Heritage.
1.4 This transfer includes a continuing revenue grant to the Southampton Hall of Aviation and allows new provision to be made for St. Barbe Museum, Lymington.
2. Revenue partnerships with independent museums
2.1 Revenue support is provided to independent museums which promote important museum strategic aims. The amounts recommended have not been increased for inflation (neither have they been for a number of years) due to continuing pressure on the museums budget, but they nevertheless provide critical revenue support to the museums concerned.
2.2 The support provided is related to the contribution these museums make to community development, cultural tourism and economic development, as defined in the museums strategy.
2.3 Support recommended is:
Whitchurch Silk Mill £22,900
St. Barbe Museum, Lymington £15,650
Southampton Hall of Aviation £15,000
New Forest Ninth Centenary Trust £1,850
2.4 The grant to Southampton Hall of Aviation, previously the responsibility of the Policy and Resources, supports the cost of curating collections relating to the history of aviation in Hampshire. A grant of £650, previously provided in the budget of the Museums Service, has been consolidated in the total grant.
2.5 The New Forest Ninth Centenary Trust provides the New Forest Museum at Lyndhurst. The small revenue grant supports educational work. Although it is a smaller grant compared with the other museums, Lyndhurst Museum has received substantial capital grants in the past. The Trustees have a particular problem in 2003/04 due to the loss of income while the Museum is closed for substantial refurbishment and expansion grant aided by the Heritage Lottery Fund and other external grants. The Executive Member for Recreation and Heritage and Director of Recreation and Heritage are meeting to discuss this situation.
2.6 The new revenue support for St. Barbe Museum, Lymington, supports the most successful example of the County Council's policy to support high quality local museums in the smaller towns of Hampshire through voluntary and independent museums trusts. St. Barbe Museum provides local displays of very high quality and an exceptionally important programme of special exhibitions which include loans from national museums and a quality of material which cannot be accommodated in most local museums. This is a major benefit for Hampshire, as well as locally, for community and cultural development and tourism.
The new revenue grant will support educational work, outreach and include support for the developing community museum at Fordingbridge.
3. Small discretionary grants
3.1 This provision continues a long-standing policy of providing a fund to help voluntary and independent museums and organizations related to archives with assistance for a variety of purposes in a flexible and responsive fashion. Typically, assistance is offered for public access, display development, conservation of collections, volunteer and staff training and low-cost feasibility studies and expert consultancies.
3.2 Museum grants have hitherto been delegated to the Head of Museums and Archives, subject to the purposes set out below, and it is recommended this policy is continued, and that the small fund for supporting archives and local history organizations is treated in the same way.
Voluntary Museums Fund £1,900
Natural Sciences in Museums Fund £1,500
Archaeology in Museums Fund £1,800
Archives and local history £1,200
Recommendation
That financial support for voluntary and independent organizations which support the museums strategy and Hampshire Record Office, as set out in the report, be approved.
Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background Documents
The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.
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2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the act.
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