Background
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) sponsors 15 national museums and galleries, which provide free entry to their permanent collections. DCMS provided grant-in-aid of £452 million to these organisations in 2023-24. These museums and galleries have faced significant financial challenges following COVID-19, with lower visitor numbers, and rising staff, energy and maintenance costs.
These factors have impacted on the financial health of the museums and galleries. Reserve levels have fallen in some cases as they have been used to fund deficits. In February 2025, DCMS announced a 5% increase to its grant-in-aid to these bodies for 2025-26. The government also wants to continue to broaden access to museums and galleries for harder-to-reach groups.
Scope
This study will examine whether DCMS and its sponsored museums and galleries have adequate arrangements in place to secure the financial resilience of these bodies and the delivery of their strategic objectives. It will examine whether DCMS and these bodies have:
- minimised the impact of financial challenges on the services they provide following COVID-19
- adequate arrangements to understand and secure the financial resilience of museums and galleries
- adequate arrangements to ensure the delivery by museums and galleries of strategic objectives
We will also seek to identify good practice case examples of museums and galleries taking action to support their financial resilience.
NAO team
Director: Simon Bittlestone
Audit Manager: Chris Groom