The note from the last meeting was approved.

Claire Looney, Partnership & Commissioning Manager, City Development & Cultural Services, Portsmouth City Council

Claire Looney, the Partnership & Commissioning Manager in the City Development & Cultural Services department at Portsmouth City Council addressed the Board in place of Cllr Lee Hunt.

Claire spoke about Portsmouth’s cultural offer and their ambitions for the visitor economy. She mentioned the newly built Mary Rose Museum and the city’s joint bid with Southampton to be the City of Culture. The ambition for the future is to attract more visitors and turn day-trippers into overnight visitors.

Claire also mentioned some of Portsmouth’s main challenges. This includes below average literacy and numeracy figures which is partly being tackled through an ambitious new libraries programme drawing on Portsmouth’s legacy of Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes.

Diane Lees, Chair of the National Museum Directors’ Council and Director of the Imperial War Museum

The Chair thanked independent colleagues for suggesting this agenda item, and welcomed Diane Lees, Chair of the National Museum Directors’ Council and Director of the Imperial War Museum.

Diane began by outlining the financial challenges faced by museums. The Imperial War Museum will have lost 33% of its funding by the end of 2015/16 and this is a pattern across the sector. While investment has made a huge difference to regional museums, the problem now is maintaining and growing these.

Diane reported that museums have moved beyond collection loans. While loans are still important, museums are also managing their collections more effectively and finding ways to permanently enhance their materials. They are also better at skill-sharing.

Finally, Diane spoke about the potential for national museums to coordinate wider national activity, giving the example of the WWI centenary and the digital project the Imperial War Museum is running involving regional museums across the country.

Members raised the following points:

·         The increasing concentration of museums in London and the government’s failure to understand this trend.

·         The need for better information about museums in England to be available.

·         The struggles of small museums to secure loans from large museums.

·         The difficulties accompanying government indemnity.

·         The possibility of having one museums body.

·         Issues around charging admission.

Actions

·         Cllr Martin to consult Laura Caton on putting pressure on government regarding the government indemnity.

Members noted the briefing

Members noted the report. Sir William Lawrence gave an oral report on the meeting of the BBFC Consultative Council.

Actions

·         Cllr Peter Golds to give a short report to the next Board meeting.

Members noted the report.