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National Audit Office Press Notice

Scotland's National Museums and Galleries: Quality of Service and Safeguarding the Collections

Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General
HC 14 1995/96
8 December 1995
ISBN: 0102602964
Price: £10.75

Sir John Bourn, the head of the National Audit Office, today reported to Parliament on how the National Museums of Scotland and the National Galleries of Scotland, which together cost £27 million a year to run, could further improve their performance. The Museums contain some 3.9 million objects and have seven sites open to the public. The Galleries' collections contain some 113,000 works of art and 111,000 other items; and has five sites open to the public.

The report's main findings are:

• Visitors' satisfaction levels are similar to those recorded by other UK Museums and Galleries.
• The Museums' new exhibitions met the highest standards but their older displays fell short of them. A panel, engaged by the National Audit Office, found that the Galleries' exhibitions met the highest standards for a well-informed audience but that improvements could be made to encourage less-informed visitors.
• The National Galleries this year predict record attendance figures. Much of this increase is attributed to the popularity of the newly-acquired sculpture of The Three Graces by Canova.
• Although visitor numbers to both the Museums and the Galleries have risen significantly since 1988, until the Museums and Galleries Commission produced a report on the potential market in October 1994, the institutions had limited market-wide information on their potential audience or reasons for visits. In this respect the National Museums of Scotland consider themselves in a similar position to other United Kingdom museums.
• The surveys which the National Audit Office commissioned provided useful additional information to market research undertaken by the institutions. Findings suggested that more visitors could be attracted by better publicity, even more children's activities and a greater emphasis on Scotland.
• The Museums and Galleries have addressed recommendations from the Public Accounts Committee on managing the collections but work is still needed to provide full stock control.
• Until plans to improve storage conditions are in place parts of the collections will remain stored in conditions which do not meet standards recommended by the Museums and Galleries Commission. However storage at the National Galleries will be improved by the new facility at the Dean Centre, Belford Road, Edinburgh, scheduled to be opened in 1997; and at the Museums by the new facility at Granton which will open in April 1996.

Notes for Editors

The National Museums of Scotland and the National Galleries of Scotland are each governed by Boards of Trustees appointed by the Secretary of State for Scotland, who also makes grant in aid payments to meet their expenditure.

The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the head of the National Audit Office employing some 750 staff. He, and the National Audit Office, are totally independent of Government. He certifies the accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which departments and other bodies have used their resources.

Press Notice 65/95
All enquiries to NAO Press Office: Tel + 44 (0) 20 7798 7400