Public in favour of council support for museums

There is strong public support for local authority funding of museums, a survey has found.

YouGov research commissioned by Art Fund and the National Museum Directors' Council (NMDC) found that 74% of people said local government should provide at least half of its funding, with 45% saying that councils should provide most or all of it.

Meanwhile, 89% of UK adults think museums are important to UK culture, while 76% think local museums add value to their area.

Nearly half of those surveyed (47%) said that museums in the UK should be mostly or entirely funded by government. Only 3% said museums should be wholly funded by private investment or income generation.

The survey also found that 44% of people knew public funding for local museums had decreased since 2022, with only 9% thinking it had stayed the same and 4% thinking it had increased.

When asked how they would feel if their local museum were to close, 54% said they would feel disappointed, 41% would feel sad, 19% would be angry, and 16% would feel frustrated.