A boost in funding for national museums, announced yesterday by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her long-awaited budget, has been welcomed by culture figures. However, the spending pledges announced by the new Labour government were also criticised by key arts organisations and regional museum chiefs, who said that the financial plans failed to address long-term challenges facing the sector. Some culture leaders also expressed concern about changes to the existing regime for taxing non-UK domiciled individuals.
Crucially the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will receive a 2.6% real-terms increase in funding, receiving £2.3bn in total from 2025 to 2026 for capital spending on future projects. However, the Resource DEL figure (RDEL)—money spent on day-to-day resources and administration costs—remains at £1.5bn over three years (2023-26)—a drop in real terms of 2.5%.
Ben Walmsley, the director of the Centre for Cultural Value at Leeds University, says: “This is a complex scenario but my understanding is that the DCMS has received a real-terms cut in its…
