DCMS boost to take cultural spend to £1.5bn

Proclaiming a desire to restore national pride, the government said the five-year project would turn the corner after more than a decade of underfunding.

Major capital investment is required to help save 1,000 local cultural venues – covering arts venues, libraries, museums and other heritage buildings – across the country, the government said as it revealed a package of funding streams to add to the £270m Arts Everywhere stream pledged last year.

Front and centre of the programme is a £760m museums package, £600m of it to cover infrastructure. including critical works to estates, at “national” museums. The other £160m will cover works at local and regional museums, with a Museum Estates Development Fund set up to fund tacking maintenance backlogs.

Included within the list of national museums that could benefit are National Museums Liverpool, the Tate Gallery Group, the Royal Armouries, the Imperial War Museums group and the Science Museum Group – which includes Manchester’s Science & Industry Museum, Bradford’s Science & Media Museum, York’s Railway Museum and Locomotion in Shildon, County Durham.

Several of these have ongoing or proposed works programmes, such as Tate Liverpool’s redevelopment, for which DCMS found another £12m last summer, hoping for a 2027 completion.

DCMS said that the cash boost will help restore national pride in community assets, support no or low-cost options for days out as part of the government’s drive to support families with the cost of living – six DCMS sponsored museums are in the top ten most visited sites in the UK offering free access.

Culture secretary Lisa Nandy said: “At a time when forces seek to divide us, arts, culture and heritage are what bind us together.

“Our local cultural institutions aren’t just buildings — they’re part of who we are as a nation, they help tell our national story, and provide unique opportunities for young people to pursue their dreams.

“This funding will keep the doors open and the lights on at thousands of arts organisations, museums, libraries and heritage buildings that might otherwise have been at real risk of closing. It will unlock opportunities for millions of people who have been shut out for far too long. That is the Britain we are rebuilding.”

Much remains to be established in the way of detail. DCMS said that full details of individual schemes, including specific requirements and application guidance will be published in due course.

Along with the BFI and the British Library, DCMS sponsors 15 museum groups, operating more than 45 museum sites across England, visited by 40m people in the last year.

Last year the Culture Secretary announced £270m worth of investment through the Arts Everywhere Fund. The fresh commitment builds on this further, with additional funding pledged to take investment to £1.5bn between 2025 and 2030.

The cultural sector currently supports 700,000 jobs across the country and this package will support thousands of jobs for years to come.

The £1.5bn of funding is made up of:

• £760m for museums, made up of £600m infrastructure funding which will support national museums and DCMS-sponsored cultural organisations. Funding will address critical maintenance and works to estates, and enable these institutions to deliver on their commitments to share their collections and expertise nationally. The other £160m will be invested in estates development and maintenance for local and regional museums.
• £425m Creative Foundations Fund which will support approximately 300 capital projects in arts venues across the country.
• £230m for heritage protecting and preserving heritage buildings, including listed places of worship, across the country: this includes £75m for ‘at risk’ heritage which provides grants towards repairs and conservation of historic buildings; £46m for the Heritage Revival Fund helping communities to take control of and look after local heritage and bring buildings back into public use; and a £92m fund called the Places of Worship Renewal Fund, replacing the £23m Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
• £27.5m for a Libraries Improvement Fund, supporting public libraries to upgrade their buildings and technology to meet changing needs to better serve their communities.
• £80m capital funding over four years to benefit National Portfolio organisations that receive regular investment from Arts Council England. This is part of a 5% uplift next year for these organisations that will help deliver arts and culture activity in every local authority.

DCMS said that the Arts Everywhere Fund will be “integral to utilising investment in arts and culture as a catalyst for local growth in the cultural and creative industries and in supporting local venues to achieve their full potential”. Funding will support communities across the country and focus on disadvantaged areas.

Laura Pye, chair of National Museum Directors Council, and director of NML, said: “Today’s announcement from the Secretary of State is a massive vote of confidence in the importance of culture to our nation. Investment in museum maintenance—both for regional and national institutions—is essential if we are to protect our shared heritage and ensure our collections can be enjoyed for generations to come.

“We are especially encouraged by the commitment to transformation funding to support the sustainability of local and regional museums. This support recognises the vital role we play in our communities, driving education, creativity, and local pride. With this renewed investment, we can strengthen our foundations and continue delivering world class cultural experiences for everyone.”

Lord Mendoza, chairman of Historic England said: “This is a highly significant allocation of culture and heritage funding. It is a clear signal that the government recognises that the nation’s historic places matter deeply to people. We have just unveiled firm evidence that historic places are vital for our mental wellbeing and people feel profound emotional connections with them.”

The DCMS-sponsored museums and cultural bodies who may receive funding from the £600m Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund are:

• British Museum
• Museum of the Home (formerly Geffrye Museum)
• Horniman Museum
• Imperial War Museums (IWM)
• National Gallery
• National Museums Liverpool
• National Portrait Gallery
• Natural History Museum
• Royal Armouries
• Royal Museums Greenwich (includes National Maritime Museum)
• Science Museum Group (includes Science Museum, Museum of Science & Industry)
• Sir John Soane’s Museum
• Tate Gallery Group (Tate Modern, Tate Britain, etc.)
• Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)
• The Wallace Collection
• The BFI
• The British Library