Sandra leaving Locomotion

[Mel_H]

I am sure that Sandra would like to be staying, but someone within the Science Museum knows better, everyone I believe at Shildon wishes see was allowed to stay, this is just NRM politics I think,  Sadly civil servants have little grasp on the real world of sales and service.  Sandra was 100% Shildon and seemed to love the job, I hope someone there in the future reverses this decision, Sandra I believe will be at the York Show for the last time.    Very sad news for a very nice person.    Charlie

 

Yes, very sad that she is leaving due to redundancy. 

[JSpencer]

Personally I am always surprised that such a big important museum like the NRM are free entry!

 

I would not have any problem, making a contribution. I know there would be some political nonsense of it being a national business instead of a national charity that could lead to £20 plus entry fees instead of state sponsorship.

 

Surely we do not need to have such political all or nothing extremes? State sponsorship may need to stay but surely a £5 or £10 entrance fee would contribute greatly towards the collection and ensure we retain a decent level of staff with decent people.

[RANGERS]

Personally I am always surprised that such a big important museum like the NRM are free entry!

 

I would not have any problem, making a contribution. I know there would be some political nonsense of it being a national business instead of a national charity that could lead to £20 plus entry fees instead of state sponsorship.

 

Surely we do not need to have such political all or nothing extremes? State sponsorship may need to stay but surely a £5 or £10 entrance fee would contribute greatly towards the collection and ensure we retain a decent level of staff with decent people.

The rules for obtaining the state support is that it remains free for all, in effect the Govt pays everyone's entry fee which is of course funded by just about everyone. Of course there's nothing to stop visitors making a donation but I suspect very few do.

[phil-b259]

Personally I am always surprised that such a big important museum like the NRM are free entry!

 

I would not have any problem, making a contribution. I know there would be some political nonsense of it being a national business instead of a national charity that could lead to £20 plus entry fees instead of state sponsorship.

 

Surely we do not need to have such political all or nothing extremes? State sponsorship may need to stay but surely a £5 or £10 entrance fee would contribute greatly towards the collection and ensure we retain a decent level of staff with decent people.

 

Its called Politics.

 

Free entry to our 'national museums has long been looked at by some as a fundamental right of all citizens - who just in matters of education and health, should not be restricted in their enjoyment of Government owned artefacts on the basis of wealth. Its an issue that resonates with the public and creates positive political headlines when free access is provided and negative ones when people have to pay "to see stuff they (the taxpayers) collectively own"

 

A bit of history, back in the late 1980s the relevant Government Department that funded our national museums was under pressure from the governing Conservatives to reduce the cost to the state. It also had a problem that many museums were starting to need significant investment in their buildings and the way the displayed their artefacts to cater for the desire for a more 'hands on' approch (the science museums "Launch Pad" for example being an absolute hit with many children like me compared to the rather stuffy displays elsewhere). The solution, according to the politicians was to start charging for admission - so thats exactly what happened, with charges gradually rising over the years as Treasury funding got frozen or reduced in line with the the political ideology of the time. At the time charges were introduced however, politicians got lots of flack for the move - with critics accusing the Government of not caring about low income families (or whatever they were defined as back then) had access to art and culture etc. The Government of the time however chose, (as with many other reforms at the time) to ignore the protests (possibly because they knew their electoral base was largely made up from people willing to pay for admission anyway) so charging went ahead as planned.

 

In the late 90s however New Labour had taken over and in a nod to their socialist background the Government took the decision that if 'national' museums wanted to continue to receive Government funding they would have to drop entry charges - the lost money revenue being commentated for I believe by the recently established  "national Lottery" (set up in 1994 to generate money for 'good causes') thus making the proposal cost neutral to HM Treasury. This allowed the politicians to look good in the media, be seen to be doing something positive to help low income families who might otherwise be unable to visit said museums, etc.and generally claim the moral high ground again over the issue. Equally it also helped even out the disparity in museum incomes between various institutions (with charging, the more popular you are the more cash that institution generates)

 

Today the position of the politicians has not changed - they regard free access to national museums as a key part of their efforts to be supporting low income families etc and ensuring access by all citizens to the nations treasures. To go back on that commitment would bring all sorts of accusations form the media about the Government only being interested in the elite, not interested in the cultural needs of society, etc. Over recent years austerity policies in Whitehall have ensured that museum finding has continued to decline year on year - yet museums are supposed to be doing more and more these days to attract the public. In such an environment is it hardly surprising that more revenue generating stuff like cafes and gift shops are getting bigger while the quantity of things on display are getting less and indeed the staff required to run said museums gets less?

 

So to recap - the inhabitants of Whitehall and the Palace of Westminster have made it VERY clear, charging for admission will not happen (for purely political reasons) - however much we and others might complain about the effects such a policy causes. If people dislike this state of affairs then we now have an unexpected opportunity to express our views about those in charge on the 8th June this year - so make it count.

Edited April 18, 2017 by phil-b259

[adb968008]

Make museum admissions tax deductible @20% tax code or admission payable using Childcare vouchers.

 

Low incomes get money back and encouraged to go visit, could even help with the child care crisis more wealthier visitors have an incentive to not claim and allow the museums to keep it.

Overseas visitors therefore contribute to the economy as opposed to enjoying it at our cost.

[Clearwater]

Make museum admissions tax deductible @20% tax code or admission payable using Childcare vouchers.

 

Low incomes get money back and encouraged to go visit, could even help with the child care crisis more wealthier visitors have an incentive to not claim and allow the museums to keep it.

Overseas visitors therefore contribute to the economy as opposed to enjoying it at our cost.

Question is whether the admin cost is more than the benefit. Plus I suspect few people on PAYE at 20% submit a tax return to make a deduction. Arguably what you propose is not too different from gift aid. I usually fill that in to give the museum the tax credit but I'm less good at keeping all my receipts to claim the difference to my tax code at the year end

 

Free, at point of use, entry encourages people in and I suspect once there to be more generous/less questioning of a gift, food and drink spend etc.

 

David

[Roy Langridge]

Just leave it as it is. Whatever the source of income, organisations will look to make savings.

 

Roy

[Hilux5972]

Hopefully someone else takes over the postings on here. Sandra did such a great job of keeping us all up to date with the models. Would be a shame to lose that.