Tough decisions on future of Welsh history

Museum Wales will have to stop taking in some artefacts as it faces difficult decisions about its future, according to its chief executive.

The Charity Commission said the organisation had an income of £38.3m compared to expenditure of £38.8m in 2021-22.

This, coupled with a backlog of maintenance work and a cut in Welsh government funding, mean "brave" decisions, including a "restructure" and potential job cuts were needed, said boss Jane Richardson.

The organisation, also known as Amgueddfa Cymru, has faced questions from the auditor general in recent months about payments to former employees.

More than five million artefacts, from Monet paintings to rare beetles, are stored and cared for by Museum Wales.

Receiving most of its funding from the Welsh government, it looks after eight sites, including its National Collection Centre just outside Cardiff, as part of its role to conserve the history of Wales.

But Ms Richardson said tough decisions were having to be made.

"It is about what we continue to collect to tell the story of Wales because although we can do less of that, history doesn’t stop," she said.

She added the organisation was having a "conversation with the entire staff" so everybody knows "what it is we have to do less of in order to do the things that we focus on really well".

As well as its own financial shortfall, this month the Welsh government also announced it would cut Museum Wales funding by 10.5%, as part of its own efforts to balance the books.

Museum Wales said this was the largest funding cut in its history and could mean closing services and potential job losses.

Ms Richardson said there were ways to make more money, but Covid changed or closed off a lot of the usually lucrative options with corporate partners, such as using sites as filming locations.

But maintenance was “the one thing I wake up in the night worrying about", she added.

There is a backlog of maintenance work at the museum

As part of its grant in aid for this financial year, Museum Wales is receiving more than £4.7m towards maintenance, which has helped to address the most pressing maintenance projects.

However, there is currently a £90m backlog, which Ms Richardson said was putting collections at risk because of leaking walls, as well as "wiring and plumbing issues".

She said the organisation might have to come together with partners and look at how they "display items differently", and consider "using different parts of the building at different times".

The struggles faced in the past few months were further compounded after a bullying row involving a former boss at Museum Wales, which left taxpayers with a bill of more than £620,000.

"It has been a difficult time," said Ms Richardson.

"There’s been a lot of coverage of the challenges that we’ve faced here and that's difficult for our team because they love what they do.

"We’ve done some amazing research, we’ve done some amazing outreach work."

She added people were keen "to put the past behind us and get on with doing what we do really well".

The organisation has faced many challenges, including the maintenance backlog and a cut in funding

Ms Richardson, who was appointed chief executive in August and previously worked with the National Trust, said the biggest priority would be the budget cut.

"That’s going to be really significant for us and that means that we need to restructure ourselves.

"The way that we work, what we work on, how we prioritise, how we generate more income, how we work more closely with fundraisers."

Museum Wales also needed to find a way to reach out to communities across Wales, said Ms Richardson.

Despite the challenges, she said she was "really hopeful" for the future.

"The team here are amazing, the sites are so special and this collection is off the scale," she said.

"Yes, the money is difficult. But if we are brave in the decisions that we make so that we can be more resilient for the future, then I’m really hopeful that this organisation will go from strength to strength".