More than 45 of Scotland's museums and galleries 'at risk of closure" within 12 months amid funding 'crisis'

Dozens of museums and galleries across Scotland are at risk of being closed down within the next 12 months due to a crippling funding “crisis”, it can be revealed.

Broughty Castle in Tayside is among the Scottish heritage attractions which have recently been at risk of closure.

More than 45 attractions are said to be under threat in the wake of cuts imposed by the Scottish Government and local authorities, evidence submitted to the Scottish Parliament has said. The operators of some attractions are concerned they will be "insolvent by the end of the year" unless new funding is committed to the sector.

Recent research by Museums Galleries Scotland, a Scottish Government-funded body that supports more than 440 attractions, found 11 per cent are at risk of closure within 12 months, 14 per cent only have one month of financial reserves in the bank and 28 per cent have just three months worth.

MSPs have also been alerted to a “hollowing out of skills and expertise” in the sector, which is said to support more than 3,000 jobs. The sector is said to be facing a “recruitment crisis” due to poor levels of pay and job insecurity, with some museums unable to afford to pay staff the “real living living wage”. 

A report for the Scottish Parliament has warned that a combination of rising costs, dwindling funding and reduced audiences since the pandemic have left museums and galleries “extremely precarious with many at risk of cuts and closure”. Industry leaders say there is an “urgent need” to take a strategic approach to funding the sector to ensure it has “a sustainable and positive future”.

The Auchindrain township is one of the key heritage attractions in Argyll. PIC: David Hawgood | David Hawgood

The UK-wide Museums Association has urged the Scottish Government to ensure the museums and galleries sector receives a share of an additional £100 million that has been promised for its arts, culture and heritage budget within the next four years.

Fears for the future of Scotland’s museums and galleries have emerged despite recent research estimating their overall annual economic impact at more than £900m.

New evidence submitted to Holyrood’s culture committee has highlighted how government funding for non-national museums and galleries was cut by 15 per cent in the most recent Scottish Budget, while support for university museums and galleries was cut by 26 per cent from the government-funded Scottish Funding Council.

MSPs have been told that local museums have been left “in a state of managed decline” because museum services have often been “the first to be cut” by local authorities facing spending pressures. Broughty Castle in Tayside was put at risk of closure by Dundee City Council earlier this year.

In its evidence to the parliament, Museums Galleries Scotland states that it gets just £1 million in grant funding each year from the Scottish Government, to share to the 443 non-national museums around the country.

Its dossier states: “This amount is inadequate to meet the urgent needs and ambitions of 98 per cent of the sector and compares poorly with other parts of the culture portfolio. “Financial challenges dominate with rising costs and public sector funding cuts and the result is a severe hollowing out of services.

“The increased cost of keeping the doors open and the lights on is seeing the sacrifice of the value-adding, outreach and engagement programmes that deliver benefits across-portfolios including health and wellbeing and education.

“The financial cost of sustaining these programmes is relatively small within the wider context of the culture budget, yet the knock-on cost of losing these community benefits is significant and should be factored into decisions.”

The Museums Association report for Holyrood states: “Budgetary pressures are being felt across the museum sector. Despite the Scottish Government committing to increased investment in culture, funding for museums has continued to decline.

"We believe everyone should have the right to engage with and participate in museums and have access to a high-quality museum service near to where they live. Museums should be properly funded to allow people to participate in the cultural life of their community.”

The report for Holyrood said there was a “discrepancy” between the ambitions of the Scottish Government in its official culture strategy and the resources it had made available to the sector.

The document adds: "A recent survey of Scotland’s museums and galleries has highlighted a sector in crisis.

"There is an urgent need to invest in museums and galleries to avoid further closures, depletion of the workforce, and loss of community enriching programming. Collections management roles have halved from 6 per cent to 3 per cent, with learning and participation roles down from 7 per cent down to 4 per cent. This demonstrates that there is a hollowing out of skills and expertise in the sector.”

The Museums Association said the mental health of many workers in the sector was being impacted by uncertainty over the future of their job. Its dossier adds: “We support the Scottish Government’s ambition to become a fair work nation by 2025.

"Fair work conditionality for grants has helped to drive forward the implementation of the living wage in the sector. However, it has caused some museums to be locked out of applying for grants because they are unable to afford to pay the living wage.

"In other cases, some museums are paying the living wage to the lowest-paid staff, but they cannot afford to implement pay increases across the rest of the pay scale.

"While living wage conditionality is a positive step forward, it has further increased financial pressures on museums at a time when they are experiencing funding cuts.”

A separate report for Holyrood from the Prospect trade union states: “Funding for public sector heritage organisations has been reduced or held at baseline for many years, exacerbating long-standing issues of low pay, not only for highly-qualified professional staff, but also for large numbers of public-facing staff.

"Recent pay settlements have done nothing to improve this, and the problems of recruitment, retention and staff turnover remain critical. Culture and heritage are vital to Scotland’s society, economy, and international reputation.

"However, more than a decade of austerity, recovery from the pandemic, and the subsequent and ongoing cost-of-living crisis have all had profound and lasting consequences.

"Only by increasing investment from the Scottish Government can the culture and heritage sectors rebuild their capacity, profile, visitor numbers and income to secure future opportunities and participation.”

The charity Museums and Heritage Highland, which was created five years ago to provide a strong voice for the heritage sector in the Highlands, has told Holyrood: “Our vision is a strong and resilient heritage sector in the Highlands, embedded in local culture and responding to our local communities needs, supporting cultural tourism to benefit local economies and encouraging everyone to engage with our diverse histories.

"In order to stop just surviving and focusing on income development, investment from the Scottish Government needs to grow to help our museums and heritage organisations focus on using culture as a way to bring our communities together and strengthen them economically, culturally and their health and well-being as a whole. Support and leadership on innovative funding solutions is desperately needed to secure the future of our sector.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Despite the challenging financial situation faced by the UK, ministers have increased Scotland’s culture sector funding significantly to almost £200m this financial year, as the first step to investing at least £100m more annually in culture and the arts by 2028/29.

"This is the most challenging Scottish Budget to be delivered under devolution. Scotland already faced a precarious financial situation with high inflation putting significant pressure on households, the economy and public finances.

"Generally, the Scottish Budget continues to face significant challenges. We are considering the implications of the actions announced by the Chancellor on 29 July for our public finances, and the next steps required by the Scottish Government.”