New Clause. — (Charges for Admission to Museums and Galleries

Part of Orders of the Day — Public Libraries and Museums Bill – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 8 June 1964.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Sir Edward Boyle Sir Edward Boyle , Birmingham Handsworth 12:00, 8 June 1964

I beg to move, That the Clause be read a Second time.

This new Clause arises out of a discussion we had in Standing Committee on 30th April, our last sitting upstairs. It empowers local authorities to charge for admission to museums or art galleries which they maintain, but subsection (2) requires them to take account of the interests of education. I think I am interpreting the wish of the whole Standing Committee in saying that when we discussed this matter it was felt that we should spell out this point specifically, and subsection (2) does that. As the law stands—and I say this particularly for the benefit of that minority of the House who were not upstairs in Standing Committee—local authorities may charge for admission to their art galleries but not museums, apart from those which are provided under the Museums and Gymnasiums Act, 1891, and certain museums for which charges are authorised under local Acts. In addition, charges for admission can be made where a museum is housed in an ancient monument.

There was widespread feeling in Committee that there was little reason for this distinction. In practice it is hard to say whether an institution is a museum or art gallery. Still less it is reasonable to attempt to distinguish between different types of museums; for example, to distinguish between a natural history and a folk museum. Nor would it be practicable, for museums very often contain a wide range of objects.

For the reasons I gave in Committee upstairs, I agree that the original Clause, which we negatived, was clearly unsatisfactory. It is clear from the Survey of the Standing Commission that there is a considerable variety in the circumstances of museums—in what they have to offer and in the type of person they are likely to attract. After consideration, my right hon. and learned Friend and I have concluded that it would not be practicable to prescribe by law which museum should be allowed to charge and which should not or what classes of person, if any, should be exempted.

For example, in Committee we had some discussion on this subject, when the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, Central (Sir B. Stross) came to acquiesce in the view that there were real difficulties in giving local authorities power to charge non-residents but not residents. We believe that the best course is to let local authorities decide each case on its merits, and that is what we have done in the new Clause.

I must make it plain, both to the House and outside, that the Clause is not in any way intended to encourage local authorities to introduce charges where they do not already exist without regard to the interests of education. It is not a matter of indifference to either the Government or the House as a whole that the best possible use is made of museums and art galleries. We all felt in Standing Committee that these institutions have an important educational function to perform, and that is why subsection (2) specifically states that: …a local authority shall take into account the need to secure that the museum or gallery plays its full part in the promotion of education in the area, and shall have particular regard to the interests of children and students. Those words are integral to the Clause.