NMW to face £200,000 in-year cut
Welsh government imposes further savings due to budget pressure
Amgueddfa-Cymru – National Museum Wales (NMW) has had its budget cut by a further £200,000 this year as the Welsh government struggles to cope with a £1.7bn reduction in funding since 2010-11.
Before the cut, the museum’s annual grant-in-aid for 2013-14 and 2014-15 was set at £23.556m, down from £23.567m in 2012-13.
An NMW spokeswoman said: “We have received official notification that our budget will be cut by a further £200,000 during this financial year.
“This comes at a time when we are already working within a reduced budget, implementing a major restructure to save £3.1m and are reviewing other areas of our work.
“We realise that the current economic climate poses challenges for most public sector organisations and although we will continue to do all we can to offer a high quality provision for our visitors, this recent reduction in our budget will inevitably affect the services that we deliver.”
The Welsh government said it had been obliged to impose in-year funding reductions on several of its sponsored bodies in order to cope with rising costs and budget pressures.
A government spokesman said: “We value the contribution of all our sponsored bodies and have done our best to protect them from the cuts that similar institutions in England have seen.
“However, these are difficult times for all public services in Wales and the culture and heritage sector is no exception.
“We’ve been completely transparent about the very challenging financial position that we’re facing. By 2015-16 the Welsh government’s budget will be nearly £1.7bn less than it was in 2010-11.
“Since the budget 2014-15 was approved by the assembly in December, rising demand levels and costs are placing our budgets under increasing pressures. We have therefore had to make modest reductions across the whole of the culture and sport portfolio.”
NMW, which is responsible for nine sites across Wales, did not indicate which services or roles may be affected by the cut but said it would work with the government to identify savings.
The museum is currently involved in an industrial dispute with unions over cuts to premium payments for staff working weekends, with several sites affected by strike action over the summer.
NMW was forced to cut 23 posts last year as a result of funding reductions.
Before the cut, the museum’s annual grant-in-aid for 2013-14 and 2014-15 was set at £23.556m, down from £23.567m in 2012-13.
An NMW spokeswoman said: “We have received official notification that our budget will be cut by a further £200,000 during this financial year.
“This comes at a time when we are already working within a reduced budget, implementing a major restructure to save £3.1m and are reviewing other areas of our work.
“We realise that the current economic climate poses challenges for most public sector organisations and although we will continue to do all we can to offer a high quality provision for our visitors, this recent reduction in our budget will inevitably affect the services that we deliver.”
The Welsh government said it had been obliged to impose in-year funding reductions on several of its sponsored bodies in order to cope with rising costs and budget pressures.
A government spokesman said: “We value the contribution of all our sponsored bodies and have done our best to protect them from the cuts that similar institutions in England have seen.
“However, these are difficult times for all public services in Wales and the culture and heritage sector is no exception.
“We’ve been completely transparent about the very challenging financial position that we’re facing. By 2015-16 the Welsh government’s budget will be nearly £1.7bn less than it was in 2010-11.
“Since the budget 2014-15 was approved by the assembly in December, rising demand levels and costs are placing our budgets under increasing pressures. We have therefore had to make modest reductions across the whole of the culture and sport portfolio.”
NMW, which is responsible for nine sites across Wales, did not indicate which services or roles may be affected by the cut but said it would work with the government to identify savings.
The museum is currently involved in an industrial dispute with unions over cuts to premium payments for staff working weekends, with several sites affected by strike action over the summer.
NMW was forced to cut 23 posts last year as a result of funding reductions.