The Minister urges additional museums and galleries to sign up for the programme
There will be more than £70 million available for those who join the programme in 2020.
In order to increase visitor numbers and provide more people with access to the arts and culture, museums and galleries are being invited to submit applications for VAT refunds to support operating free of charge.
Any museum or gallery that is free to the public and open for 30 hours a week may submit an application. Organizations will benefit from more funding and more frequent collection openings.
The VAT Refund Scheme, which has been in operation since 2001, closed to new applications in 2018–19 and is thought to have reimbursed museums and galleries for up to £1 billion so far.
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, the minister for the arts, today said that the programme would reopen for new applicants in the fall before delivering a lecture at the Edinburgh International Culture Summit.
He is urging institutions who are presently qualified but are not using the programme to apply, as well as museums and galleries that are thinking about hosting free exhibits.
Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, minister for the arts, said:
Brilliant museums and galleries in the UK should be proud of the wide variety of free exhibits they host and the part they play in facilitating greater access to the arts and cultural institutions.
We want to assist organisations who are giving the public fantastic opportunity to enjoy themselves and see even more museums provide free admission.
I urge cultural organisations around the UK to register for the VAT refund programme so they may ensure that individuals from all socioeconomic situations have access to excellent arts and culture for no cost.
Institutions that take part in the programme are eligible to a return of the VAT they paid on products and services they bought to provide free entrance.
The programme currently benefits 159 locations throughout the UK, including the National Museum of Wales, the Walker Art Gallery, the Burns House Museum in Kilmarnock, the People’s History Museum in Manchester, the Burns House Museum in Lancaster, Falkirk’s Callendar House, and the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh.
The programme was utilised by the Athelstan Museum in Malmesbury to enhance its public display areas for visitors. The plan was employed by the museum to improve the mezzanine gallery space where a J.M.W. Turner watercolour of Malmesbury will be shown.
In the six years after their enrollment, it is anticipated that museums and galleries that joined the programme in 2020 would receive more than £70 million in VAT refunds.
In the fall, new museums and galleries may submit an application to participate in the programme.
Lord Mendoza, commissioner for cultural renewal and recovery, said:
I cited this specifically created programme as one of the most significant government initiatives to support museums all over the United Kingdom in my study of museums.
I hope the number of applications increases in the future so that as many people as possible may enjoy free admission to our world-class museums.
Free admission to museums is a unique cultural initiative, therefore I’m delighted that the government intends to support additional institutions this year.
Culture Perth and Kinross Limited’s CEO, Helen Smout, said:
Our organisation has benefited greatly from the VAT Refund Scheme for Museums and Galleries in addition to the Museums and Galleries Tax Relief, which is crucial in enabling us to maintain a schedule of free-to-access shows.
After the pandemic’s interruptions, our effort has enabled us re-engage audiences, and as of now in 2022, we are surpassing our pre-pandemic foot traffic, providing significant advantages and cash to the organisation.
Our programmes would not be as comprehensive, ambitious, or interesting without the funding that this programme gives to museums, and things would be lot worse in the future.
Athelstan Museum, Malmesbury, Chair of Trustees Sharon Nolan said:
The VAT Refund Scheme for Museums and Galleries has been very beneficial to Athelstan Museum Malmesbury.
When we originally signed up for the programme, we were in the midst of buying a historic Moravian church (now known as the Julia and Hans Rausing Building) to renovate and turn into a new museum store and event/workshop/talks venue to draw in a wider range of visitors.
The programme allowed us to avoid paying VAT on the materials and construction labour we used.
We also benefitted from the programme when we bought a Turner watercolour of Malmesbury and wanted to improve our mezzanine area to show it.
As we get no outside support outside contributions, Gift Aid, and revenue from the gift shop, it aids in the day-to-day operations of the museum.
We are entirely managed by volunteers. For tiny, volunteer-run museums like ours, the programme is priceless.
We are able to be ambitious and embark on new initiatives since it allows us to keep our free-entry status.
Our tourists give the museum a lot of praise, and with Covid, their numbers are now rising.
The Museums and Galleries Exhibits Tax Relief programme, which tries to encourage cultural institutions to establish new exhibitions via financial incentives, has also had its sunset clause extended by the government.
The programme has received a temporary boost, so there will be tax breaks of up to £100,000 for travelling exhibits and 45 percent tax reduction for both permanent and temporary exhibitions.
These rates will be 30% and 35%, respectively, starting on April 1, 2023, before going back to their previous rates of 20% and 25% on April 1, 2024.