Written question asked by Neil Turner (Labour) on Tuesday, 6 May 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 12 May 2008. It was answered by Baroness Hodge of Barking (Labour) on Monday, 12 May 2008 on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

National Museums

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of recent trends in visits to national museums.

Answer: The most recent figures show that visits to the former charging sponsored museums in England have almost doubled since the introduction of free access in December 2001. This represents an extra six million visits a year or 37 million visits over the six years since entry charges were abolished.Overall, visits to the national museums are continuing to increase each year, with number of visits rising from 24 million in 1997-98 to over 40 million in 2007-08.

Secondary information