Scottish museums’ finances are ‘more fragile than ever’

Museums and galleries in Scotland are in a more fragile financial position than ever despite a surge in visitor numbers, new research has revealed.

A survey commissioned by Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) has found that around three quarters of the 114 respondents faced a real-terms decrease in their income in 2023/24.

This comes amid rising costs, with almost two-thirds of respondents (63%) reporting that they had seen an increase in their expenditure over the same period.

Museum reserves are also depleting, according to the report. The percentage of museums reporting that they had more than 12 months’ reserves fell to 36%, compared to 43% when the previous survey was taken in 2022. Meanwhile, the proportion of museums saying they had reserves of less than four months grew from 24% in 2022 to 28% in 2024.

A growing number of museums may be under threat of closure, the report found, with 11% reporting that they felt their organisation is at risk of closure in the next 12 months. This compares to 10% in the previous survey.

Some organisations have also seen their workforces shrink, with almost a quarter (24%) of respondents saying that levels of paid staff have decreased in the past two years.

There has also been a shift in roles. Front of house roles remain the highest proportion, up from 34% to 41%, but there has been a loss of curatorial roles, which fell from 10% to 8%. Meanwhile education, learning and participation roles now make up just 4% of the museum workforce.

“This means we are losing the ability to care for and share the stories of the collections we hold for the people of Scotland,” the report said.

There were some positives in this year’s research; footfall in 2023/24 had almost tripled compared to 2021/22, growing from 5.2 million to 15.4 million visitors. This figure also surpassed the pre-pandemic level of 12.8 million in 2019/20.   

International visitors are also surpassing pre-pandemic levels, the survey showed, making up 42% of all visitors in 2023 compared to 34% in 2019/20.

The proportion of national visitors fell slightly from 38% pre-pandemic to 36% this year. Local visitors made up 28% of all visits pre-pandemic compared to 21% this year.  

The sector is continuing to have a strong focus on social impact-related work, with 64% of respondents reporting that their museum actively engages with the health and wellbeing agenda through deliberately targeted programmes, the same as the 2022 survey.

The most common activities or audiences that museums worked with in 2023/24 were family activities (93%), youth engagement (83%) and older people (82%).

Progress has been made around fundraising strategies, with 63% reporting that they do have a fundraising plan or strategy for their museum, compared to 42% in 2022. 

MGS chief executive Lucy Casot said: “This report shows the state of Scotland’s museums and galleries, underlining their importance to our economy, our health and wellbeing and our education. Despite the increase in visitor numbers, we still have an extremely vulnerable sector.

“Cost pressures and funding cuts mean our museums and galleries are looking less financially resilient, with a number at risk of closure. Such shutdowns would pose serious questions for the future of nationally important collections which are held around the country for the benefit of the people of Scotland. Closures also risk local cultural and visitor ecosystems, as the loss of one asset often has a knock-on effect throughout the community.

“Museums and galleries are continuing to deliver the very best for local communities but without investment these positive impacts cannot be sustained. Most are at a disadvantage as they can’t access capital funding and are limited in access to grant funding. Strategic public funding at local and national level is urgently required to help the sector transform and ensure culture and heritage are accessible for everyone.”

Sharon Heal, the director of the Museums Association (MA), said: “The report findings from MGS demonstrate clearly that museums in Scotland are facing extreme financial challenges, leaving them in a very vulnerable position. The MA will use this data in its advocacy to call for urgent strategic public investment to support museums to look after collections and building, engage with communities, and deliver health and wellbeing programmes.”

Sector bodies have called on the Scottish Government to deliver on its promise to increase cultural investment by £100m a year. The Scottish Government received an uplift of £2.5bn in last month’s autumn budget, bringing its total budget to £47.7bn.