---

Covid-19: Museums, Galleries and Historic Buildings

My Lords, in recent years, this sector as a whole has diversified its income streams. The most sustainable, and now the most sensitive, of these is the great number of member, friend or supporter schemes, which are run by museums, galleries and historic buildings alike and enrol people as members or supporters in return for an annual membership fee.

The Covid effect on these schemes is a drift towards members not renewing their subscriptions. However, more worrying for the long term is the sharp downward trend in the number of new subscribers being attracted to join. This has a huge impact on the survival of many in this sector. Can the Minister ensure that this problem gets a hard look from the Government and the funding bodies so that it can be addressed in support measures? Many of the sector-based sources of finance have been or are close to being exhausted. If measures are not introduced, many of these totems of our heritage and well-being as a nation may well be unable to reopen when the time comes.

4.30 pm