Issue - meetings

The Corporate Director of Children, Education & Communities to present a report which proposes a series of actions to respond to a request from York Museums Trust for financial support to mitigate the impact of Covid-19, and to secure the future of the city’s museums.

Resolved:  (i)      That the Executive Member for Culture, Leisure & Communities write to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to ask government for additional funding to support YMT in their particular circumstances.

                   (ii)      That officers discuss with the Local Government Association the position of local authority museums in trusts, to inform the LGA’s lobbying efforts.

                   (iii)     That officers provide a letter of guarantee to YMT, providing them with access to a maximum of £1.95m over the next 2 years should it be required.

                   (iv)    That payment terms be amended for the reimbursement of payroll costs up to a maximum of 60 days.

Reason:     To secure the future of the council’s museums.

The Corporate Director of Children, Education & Communities presented a report which proposed a series of actions to respond to a request from York Museums Trust (YMT) for financial support to mitigate the impact of Covid-19.

The report explained that, because 75% of YMT’s income came from admissions and commercial trading, closures due to Covid-19 had led to a drastic loss of income at the start of the peak visitor season.  Despite doing everything possible to reduce their costs, and securing £412k funding from Arts Council England, YMT still faced a £1.54m deficit and would need financial support to remain a going concern.  Should it fail, the three museums that it ran on the council’s behalf would revert to the council, creating an immediate and severe financial burden, as set out in paragraph 10.

YMT had requested revenue funding support of £1.35m this year and up to £600k next year.  A loan would not be a viable option, as explained in paragraph 12.  Since the government support announced in July did not extend to outsourced organisations, it was proposed that officers take steps to lobby government to provide additional funding.  In order to secure YMT’s position while this took place, it was proposed to provide a financial guarantee, allowing YMT to run down their reserves in the short term while remaining a going concern.  A further report would be brought to Executive in November regarding funding requirements in 2020/21 and 2021/22.

The Executive Member for Culture, Leisure & Communities commended the proposals and responded to the comments made under Public Participation.  The Chair noted the importance of the cultural institutions run by YMT and welcomed an offer made by the Leader of the Opposition for support in lobbying government.

Resolved:  (i)      That the Executive Member for Culture, Leisure & Communities write to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to ask government for additional funding to support YMT in their particular circumstances.

                   (ii)      That officers discuss with the Local Government Association the position of local authority museums in trusts, to inform the LGA’s lobbying efforts.

                   (iii)     That officers provide a letter of guarantee to YMT, providing them with access to a maximum of £1.95m over the next 2 years should it be required.

                   (iv)    That payment terms be amended for the reimbursement of payroll costs up to a maximum of 60 days.

Reason:     To secure the future of the council’s museums.