National museum chiefs expressed optimism despite one of the most difficult years in its history and “major flooding” of the gallery in Cardiff during recent storms.
Jane Richardson, chief executive, told the Senedd’s culture committee that Museum Wales was excited for the future after the Welsh Government’s draft budget announcement.
She said: “We’re in a very, very different place today than we were a year ago…. we’ve been through an extraordinarily difficult year, one of the most challenging in the museum’s history.”
She stated the museum received a 3.5 per cent or £900,000 uplift in day-to-day revenue spending, adding that employer national insurance hikes will cost about £500,000 over the year.
“We really needed about £2m as a standstill position so it is a bit of a shortfall,” she warned.
Ms Richardson said the museum fared better on capital allocations for long-term investment, with an indication of £8m for museums in Cardiff, Swansea and Llanberis.
Labour’s Alun Davies, a former minister, raised concerns about the ‘horror show’ public bodies continue to face in dealing with the Welsh Government.
He said: “It seems to me that this is almost some sort of bureaucratic nightmare.”
Ms Richardson said business cases of £2m or more can take a year to 18 months as she called for project funding to be incorporated within the museum’s core grant.
The chief executive, who has dealt with four ministers in one year, confirmed site closures, further redundancies and entry charges are no longer on the table following the budget.
But she suggested charges will be introduced for underground tours at Big Pit after a trial. “That goes beyond the traditional free entry model for a museum,” she said.