Job cuts planned in Hampshire Cultural Trust restructure

Around 20 jobs are under threat at Hampshire Cultural Trust as the organisation restructures in response to rises in inflation, utilities and pay.

The trust, which operates 24 museums, galleries and arts centres across Hampshire, has begun consulting with staff who will be affected by the proposed changes.

The restructure could result in up to 20 redundancies out of a workforce of 210 full- and part-time employees. The trust says people whose jobs are at risk will be placed into alternative roles within the organisation wherever possible.

The restructure is intended to reduce costs and increase the organisation’s focus on generating income. The trust is receiving standstill funding from Winchester City Council for 2023-24 but says this represents a “de facto decrease” with inflation rates so high.

The planned changes will affect many areas of the organisation’s museums and arts portfolio. Although no venues will close as part of the restructure, the trust is reviewing opening hours across its sites. It intends to maintain the bulk of its current programming but may reduce live performances and consolidate some of its activities, workshops and classes within fewer days of the week.

The trust plans to keep its central collections team, which the trust’s chief executive, Paul Sapwell, described as a “crucial” part of its success.

According to the trust, the cuts are necessary in spite of the £500,000-a-year grant-in-aid it will receive over the next three years from Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO). This funding supports additional work and will have a minimal impact on the organisation's core costs.

Sapwell said the restructure was necessary in the short-term to protect the organisation in the long-term.

“We’ve taken a more commercial approach to funding ourselves over the past few years and we’ve been successful in increasing visitors and growing revenue,” he said. “We do believe that the strong business trajectory we’re on will continue over the long term but there’s been an unprecedented short-term hit to our expenditure. We’ve decided to take early action to protect ourselves from a much bigger problem further down the line.”

The new structure will be in place by 6 February.

Sapwell is part of a cohort of museum leaders from the English Civic Museums Network seeking to create a “new deal” for the sector in order to ensure its resilience. He told Museums Journal he believes an “equitable approach” is needed to ensure museums have a consistent offer for audiences wherever they are in the UK.

“At the moment the way you experience your local museum depends largely on the approach to funding culture in your location,” he said.

“There’s a great difference in the levels of support available for different NPOs across the country, varying levels of support for museums within different local authorities, or those outside the public sector. All of our models have their strengths and weaknesses but when faced with a financial challenge, the inconsistency means that some museums are better able to cope than others.”

Sapwell said the sector needs to come together to “have an honest discussion about current disparities and look to achieve a more equitable solution”.

He says part of this means confronting the significant variation in areas like pay across different parts of the sector. “The sector needs to show solidarity but acknowledge where there is currently difference. Annual pay awards right now look very different depending on your funding model.”

Sapwell said that museums also need to demonstrate to public funders that they can become more self-reliant.

“Our expectation is not that the public purse will bridge our whole funding gap. Public funding is crucial in supporting what we do of course – most museums will never survive on their own,” said Sapwell.

“But as a sector, we need to appreciate that we can’t just put out the begging bowl: a ‘new deal’ must definitely involve more support from central government but with an understanding that we have to do more for ourselves too and challenge traditional ways of doing things.”