Museums Association Cuts Survey Results 2013

The results are in…

In July 2013 the Museums Association (MA) invited museums from across the UK to participate in their annual survey, to provide up-to-date information on the changes taking place in museums and the impact of these changes upon the sector.

131 individuals responded to the survey, representing 124 museums or museum services.

Key findings

From July 2012 to July 2013:

• 49% of responding museums experienced a cut to their overall income
• 23% of respondents saw their overall income decrease by more than 10%
• 37% of respondents cut staff
• 21% of respondents cut staff numbers by over 10%
• 47% of responding museums increased the numbers of volunteers and interns
• 23% of respondents reduced the number of temporary exhibitions
• School visits decreased at 31% of respondents
• 28% of respondents reduced the free events on offer.

Looking to the future, one respondent at a local authority museum in Wales said:
“The service will not be able to maintain standards and we will slip back to 1950s staffing levels and standards.”

Another, at a national museum in the north of England, said:
“We are doing what we can to augment our income, of course, but the level of cuts in public funding will never be compensated for through income generation.”

Find out more and download the full 2013 Survey here.