Alarm from British museums: bills increased by 300-500%. Government to help us

British museums are concerned about sharp increases in energy bills. Last Sept. 2, the Museums Association, the world’s oldest museum association, founded in 1889 and now a fellowship representing 1,800 museums in the United Kingdom, updated its Statement on the cost of livingcrisis, the statement on theimpact of the current crisis on British museums, to ask the government for help in dealing with high utility bills.

“The rapidly rising rate of inflation,” the Museums Association states, “is causing serious problems for our institutional and individual members and the sector as a whole.” These problems include the reduction in real terms of museum workers’ incomes as they struggle to meet energy and food costs, which “will have extremely negative effects on their physical and mental well-being,” and the inability to continue to ensure that museums have adequate conditions for audiences and collections. All of this, moreover, comes “at a time of reconstruction after the pandemic and a decade of austerity. Many organizations are not in a strong position to deal with another economic shock.”

On top of all this, there are the spillovers on consumption patterns: the public, explains the Museums Association, is becoming less willing to spend on paid museum experiences, be they even a simple ticket to visit a museum or exhibition. In fact, ALVA Public Sentiment research has shown that while until a few months ago it was the fear of contracting Covid-19 that was the main reason driving visitors away from museums, that role has now been replaced by the cost of living. “This is a blow to museums that were successfully rebuilding audiences after the pandemic,” says the Museums Association. And added to this is an unprecedented fact: “museums,” the association points out, could be “used, formally or informally, as warm spaces during the winter by people who are unable to heat their homes.”

The Museums Association, in addition to what it has been asking institutions for since July (adjusted wage agreements on cost-of-living increases, investment in the museum sector by government and local authorities, support for museums), is now also asking for support to pay the bills. “We are calling for urgent action,” is the Museums Association’s plea, “to help museums cope with the rapidly rising cost of energy. Energy is a major fixed cost that museums are obliged to cover to stay open and maintain environmental standards for the collections they hold. Energy bills have no limits for museums, and many of our members are seeing bill increases of 300-500%. To address this challenge, the government should introduce a cap on energy prices for museums (along with other charitable organizations and SMEs) and reopen the subsidies for leisure and hospitality purchases introduced during the Covid pandemic. It is important to note that tax cuts or rate rebates to businesses are unlikely to help the museums and charity sectors, as most organizations already benefit from substantial tax rebates. This support should be put in place to ensure that museums are able to serve as warm spaces for communities during the winter; and maintain the standards required for the care of public collections.”

Image: visitor to the National Gallery in London. Photo Museums Association

Alarm from British museums: bills increased by 300-500%. Government to help us

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