Wera Hobhouse

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. What a wonderful debate we have had this afternoon. From Egyptian mummies and vampires to castles and royal pump houses, from the history of textiles and shipbuilding to Captain Cook and the Cutty Sark, the whole colourful history of our country has passed through our mind’s eye this afternoon. We all agree that local museums are cultural anchors that connect people, place and history. Museums support our local economy by driving tourism, creating jobs and encouraging visitors, but foremost they are there for the enjoyment of the people who live near them. In 2023, the independent museum sector alone contributed nearly £900 million to the UK economy and attracted almost 20 million visitors. The sector supports thousands of jobs, alongside more than half a million volunteer days. It is important to dwell on the volunteers; of course they provide an important local service for all of us, but they also love what they do, and they are so connected to their local place. In Bath, we are so fortunate to have a plethora of museums—large, such as the Roman baths, and small, such as the Museum of Bath Stone. Together, they celebrate our rich heritage and tell the story of our people. The Museum of Bath at Work is a particular standout. That independent, self-funded museum is housed in a grade II listed real tennis court. It operates with just one permanent member of staff, but is supported by over 40 volunteers, including working trustees and friends. Last year, it staged an exhibition on tennis in Bath, which won a national sporting heritage award for research. This year, it is planning exhibitions on cinema and film. All that is done without a single penny of financial support from the Government. The Roman baths are so popular that they received a 93% enjoyment score—whatever that is, and however it is measured—which is the highest ever. Victoria Art Gallery celebrated its 125th anniversary this year and made major investments, including the launch of a dedicated community engagement and school room. Bath council is in the process of bringing together £54 million for a new fashion museum in Bath—I am particularly excited about that, because I like fashion. It will hopefully open in 2030 and will be a fabulous place to show the transformative power of fashion, stimulate the local and regional economy, and inspire citizens like me. I am sure I will be one of the first through the doors. We have to remember that fashion is not just for the people with money, but what do every day—we wear clothes and we create fashion. We also have the American Museum, which is set within 125 acres of outstanding natural beauty. Apart from telling the history of America in a very engaging way, it showcases colourful and beautiful American decorative arts to UK audiences and helps to reduce the perception that we have of America as a bang-bang culture of cowboys—I blame Hollywood for that. That mission is all the more important today. In Bath we are so lucky, but the picture nationally is far more sober. Decades of local authority funding cuts leave local museums unable to open their doors or plan for the future. As non-statutory services, museums are too often the first to go. Councils face impossible funding choices. Spending on museums fell by 27% between 2009 and 2020—a shocking legacy of the last Conservative Government. A study published by the Mapping Museums Lab documented that, across the UK, over 500 museums have closed in the last 25 years. When such valuable cultural assets vanish, it affects some of the most disadvantaged in our society. Children from more deprived backgrounds are already significantly less likely to visit museums. They are less likely to have parents who take them, to attend a school with the budget for trips, and to live near a major national museum, so the small local museum might be the only point of cultural contact available to them. If such museums are forced to close, we are not just losing buildings; we are pulling up the ladder and telling whole communities that their history does not merit preservation, that culture is something that happens elsewhere and that heritage is only for those with money. The economic case for keeping our museums open is compelling, and the social case is equally strong. Museums improve wellbeing, reduce social isolation and strengthen community cohesion, and volunteers find community and purpose in them—but I want to dwell on education. Local museums offer something that national institutions cannot: proximity. A child visiting a local museum is not learning about history in the abstract; they are learning about the people who lived in their own town or city, worked their land and built their streets. That sense of belonging to a story that stretches back centuries matters enormously for how young people understand themselves and their place in the world. Many schools build museum visits into their curriculum because they are fun and different from what happens in a classroom. Many schools’ trips are now under enormous pressure, but trips to the local museum are inexpensive. It may be the only cultural institution that a child visits all year, and for some children it will be the first time they have been to a museum. In this country, culture is not equally distributed. Access to museums, galleries, theatres and heritage sites is closely linked to income and social background. We need a fair deal for funding local authorities that properly reflects the value of cultural services. The Government must place far greater emphasis on heritage and local history as a public good. Every community deserves a museum. Every child deserves access to their heritage. That should not depend on where they live, how much money their family has or whether enough volunteers can hold things together for just one more year. I urge the Government to act before more of our local museum treasures are lost for good.