TER0034

Written evidence submitted by the Association of Independent Museums

The Association of Independent Museums (AIM) was established in 1977 to represent the interests of the independent museums sector. Longstanding, successful social enterprises, independent museums are run in a business-like way and play a valuable role in their communities, contributing to a sense of place and making up an important part of the tourism economy.

Today, over half of all museums in the UK are independent. As their representative body AIM is widely recognised as a major heritage organisation, with a growing membership of over 1,250 including over 1,000 institutional museum and heritage organisations of all sizes.

AIM membership is predominantly made up of small museums with fewer than 20,000 visitors annually. However, the diversity and scale of membership is remarkable, and includes some of the largest and most visited museums in the UK, many of which hold Designated collections.

Response to latest call for evidence

AIM and its members understand the need to ensure the safety of the public. In response to the latest call for evidence, AIM sought the views of its members, summarised below.

Clarity around the implementation processes would be welcomed, in particular definitions of e.g. ‘primarily used’ and ‘a public capacity greater than 100 individuals’ where venues might have a below threshold regular capacity, which rises when hosting occasional events. A stipulation of exemption for organisations falling below the 100-capacity threshold would be helpful to alleviate concerns for smaller venues.

Given the changes could have some resource implications particularly for smaller, voluntary run organisations, members sought clarity as to whether additional and related funding or resources might accompany the introduction of the new regulation.

Clarity would be welcome on whether/how any changes to capacity would be reported and if/how frequently the audit of capacity might take place and related actions a venue may need to take.

June 2023