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A law that would have allowed the restitution of artefacts on moral grounds will not apply to national museums and galleries, the government has confirmed.

Currently, most national cultural collections in England are prohibited from deaccessioning items. However, sections 15 and 16 of the Charities Act 2022 would have allowed trustees to request permission from the Charity Commission if they felt there were moral grounds to make a voluntary transfer of property.

The government says the bill's potential consequences were not made clear when it was passed by parliament. The relevant section was suspended in 2022 to allow the government more time to consider it.

In January, Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson wrote to the Charity Commission clarifying the government's position on the bill.

Parkinson said: "The potential consequences of these provisions were not made clear by the Law Commission when the bill was introduced and were not the subject of parliamentary scrutiny or debate during the passage of the bill.

"The policy of HM Government is that national museums and galleries should continue to be bound by their governing legislation, precluding them from resolving to restitute objects from their collections other than in the limited and specific circumstances expressly provided for in legislation.

"To that end, we will specifically exclude those national museums and galleries from the commencement of sections 15 and 16 of the act."

When the full act comes into force later this year, non-national organisations will be able to make smaller restitutions without consulting the Charity Commission, except where the recipient is located outside the UK.

Greenham Trust has granted £20k of match funding to Watermill Theatre to help “secure the future work” of the former Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation.

The support is being offered via a fundraising alliance established by Greenham Trust to support the Newbury venue following its 100% ACE funding cut announced in November 2022.

The alliance, which also includes The Headley Trust, the Bernard Sunley Foundation and Englefield Charitable Trust, has provided £78k of funding to the 200-seat theatre, pledged to match public donations to Watermill’s PROPEL campaign.

“As soon as we heard about the funding cut by [ACE], we realised there would be a need to engage a number of local funders...in helping The Watermill," said Chris Boulton, CEO of Greenham Trust.

"This was quickly put together working with their team, and I hope our £20k contribution so far will generate another matched-funding boost for their already successful PROPEL Campaign.”

Claire Murray, Executive Director at Watermill Theatre, added: “By establishing the funding alliance, Greenham Trust has gone further in securing the future work of The Watermill."

A group of 30 Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) responsible for producing around a third of the portfolio's total carbon output have reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by two-fifths since 2018, a new report commissioned by ACE has revealed.

The Culture, Climate and Environmental Responsibility annual report 2022-23 utilises data provided by 2018-23 NPOs covering a variety of environmental impact areas such as touring, business travel, electricity and gas use, and waste, focusing on the completed environmental reporting of 656 organisations - 79% of the current portfolio.

The report, produced by the culture and environmental charity Julie's Bicycle, includes data from 30 'Spotlight' organisations chosen because they have been identified as being responsible for around 30% of the carbon emissions created by NPOs.

Among this group – which includes the Royal Shakespeare Company, Baltic Contemporary Art Centre and the National Theatre – the findings reveal that over the five years, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been reduced overall by 40%.

This cohort also reduced gas use by 32% and electricity by 19%. However, some of the reduction in GHG emissions is due to the decarbonisation of the National Grid.

For example, the report states that in 2022/23, the actual reduction in carbon emissions associated with improved/reduced electricity usage is 13%.

Overall, the report found that NPOs have reduced their energy use by 20% over the last five years.

Examining insights provided by 562 NPOs in 2023 as part of the Beyond Carbon survey, the report found that 94% of NPOs now feature environmental sustainability in their core business strategies, compared to 78% in 2018.

Nearly three-quarters said they have either programmed or produced work that explores environmental themes. This figure was just 48% in 2018.

The upward trend is continued in several other areas, with 66% of the NPOs formally recognising environmental responsibilities in job roles - up from 44% -  and 81% having taken steps to eliminate single-use plastic compared with 64%.

While action to be more sustainable is often perceived as costly, 52% of the respondents reported financial benefits from their actions, and 55% reported creative and artistic opportunities.

In her introduction to the report, Alison Tickell, Founder and CEO of Julie’s Bicycle, called for decarbonising in the arts to become "business-as-usual", adding that "pathways to decarbonisation and regeneration are central to cultural purpose and relevance".

The National Coal Mining Museum has proposed using geothermal heat to help it decarbonise.

The museum pumps an average of 1.5m gallons of water out of Hope Pit daily, which could be used as an alternative energy source. The scheme, which would cost an estimated £2m, could also heat nearby homes,    

Mine Director Shaun McLoughlin told the BBC: "Here at the National Coal Mining Museum, we've realised the potential of the heat from mine water, so we are currently in consultation with Kirklees and Wakefield Council to harness this potential.

"There is enough energy at this mine to provide the heat to heat the houses in Overton, Newhall Prison and decarbonise the whole museum."

McLoughlin added that a scheme could also offer a "great visitor experience for people to see the science and technology at work".

Plans to de-list a statue of the transatlantic slave trader Edward Colston so it can be permanently housed in a museum are set for approval by Bristol council.

The Grade II-listed statue was toppled by protesters in 2020 before being plunged into Bristol Harbour. It was included in a temporary exhibition at the city's M Shed Museum but has been out of public view since January 2022.

Bristol City Council's development control committee will vote on 21 February on a proposal to delist the statue.

If approved, the statue will be part of an exhibition on protest that due to open next month.

The move follows a public consultation by the We Are Bristol History Commission, which found 80% of Bristolians agreed it should be placed in a museum.

According to a council report, Bristol City Council Conservation said a statue of Colston returning to its plinth was "not a reasonable expectation" due to the possibility of "civil unrest".

Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees said: "I remain in support of the view that the best place for the statue is in a museum where its context, and that of what it represents to many communities, can be appropriately shared with diverse audiences."
 

Internationally renowned speakers have withdrawn from engagements at the Royal Society of the Arts (RSA) after members of the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) called for a boycott of the institution in a dispute over pay and concerns about leadership.

Staff at the RSA, who went on strike in December, are calling on fellows, guest speakers, academics and the public not to attend or speak at events organised by or at the RSA. They are also asking members to withhold nominations for new fellows and for academics to abstain from participating in research projects with the RSA.

Economist Yanis Varoufakis cancelled an event at RSA on 15 February in response to the campaign. He wrote on X: “It's our hope that this boycott will help the [RSA union] to ensure that the RSA, with its historically progressive aims, offers fair pay and conditions for all staff.”

Wildlife TV presenter and conservationist Chris Packham and comedian and writer Deborah Frances-White also withdrew from engagements at the RSA.

Employees have been in talks with RSA management for six months about a pay claim submitted in January 2023. Staff want a flat £2,800 salary increase for all employees, an increase from 5.5% to 8% for pension contributions and a £400 allowance for staff who don’t benefit from hybrid working.

The union has also accused the organisation of "curtailing free speech and debate through censorship and anti-democratic decisions" and is calling for an independent review of "the suitability of the leadership of the RSA". 

An RSA spokesperson said they were disappointed by the boycott and added that the body has worked with the IWGB to find “constructive resolutions,” offering a £1,000 salary increase, which the union has rejected.

In October 2023, an employment tribunal found the RSA had unfairly dismissed an employee who spoke to the press about the organisation's refusal to recognise the staff trade union. The IWGB said the victory "has only strengthened our members’ resolve to win the ongoing pay dispute and has given them confidence and energy to transform the RSA into an organisation that respects and values their work.”

Ipswich Borough Council (IBC) has voted to continue supporting the redevelopment of Ipswich Museum after a £2.7m overspend.

The museum closed in October 2022 for renovations and expansion, initially budgeted at £8.7m, half of which was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF).

Now with an estimated cost of £11.4m, after rising inflation and supply chain issues, IBC voted on 6 February to ensure the project is delivered in full, unanimously deciding to apply for a second round of funding from the NLHF.

According to a council report, NLHF has indicated that it will consider an additional funding application if the council provides match funding.  

At a committee meeting, the council was warned that, if rejected, the project could be subject to a complete review, halting it for at least 18 more months.

"It's really hard to see what other option we have because we are so far down this road now," said Conservative councillor Ian Fisher.

"If we don't vote for it, we get something that's not going to be anywhere near what we wanted."

Labour councillor Carole Jones, portfolio holder for planning and museums, said: "There are improvements that we need to make, and this is not an extravagant scheme.

"We are where we are, and we can only go forward."

The Chief Executive of the Royal & Derngate in Northampton has said the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) that forced the building to close for a month in September is less of a problem than initially feared. 

The theatre reopened to audiences in October and is operating at full capacity despite parts of the foyer being closed.

Chief Executive Jo Gordon said: "The good news is the recent RAAC tests that have come back suggest, if you can have such a thing, it's good RAAC.

"It means some of the repairs, some of the mitigation, we can get started on straightaway. It's not the kind of thing that would need a full roof replacement, which was one of the worries in the back of the mind."

Gordon hopes the work will be completed "between now and the summer".

Musicians from London Chamber Orchestra (LCO) walked out of a rehearsal on 7 February ahead of a performance in protest over unpaid wages.

Around half the players, who are all freelance, took action after voicing objections to five months of overdue payments, according to a report in The Observer. A subsequent performance by LCO at Cadogan Hall went ahead after other musicians were brought in to cover.

Jocelyn Lightfoot, the ensemble's Managing Director, said the issue arose after Barclays Bank froze LCO's account “with no prior warning". The action was part of Barclays' anti-crime measures.

Lightfoot said: “We kept the musicians informed during this period that their payment would go out as soon as the account was reopened, but as the timeline of the reopening was further delayed many times, it was difficult to provide musicians with a clear timeframe.

"We understand the monumental strain on this body of freelancers whose opportunities to work have been reduced and jeopardised due to sweeping cuts to orchestral funding.”

She confirmed that the payments have since been made.

A Barclays Bank spokesperson said: “We take the protection of our customers’ funds and data extremely seriously.

“As part of our ongoing responsibility to help prevent financial crime and to meet our regulatory responsibilities, we are required to ensure we hold up-to-date information regarding our customers’ accounts. Customers are also required to inform the bank in a timely manner of any change to their legal status relating to their business, charity or trust.”

Barclay’s anti-crime measures are understood to have affected other organisations, including the classical music venue, St John’s Smith Square, Surrey-based Clockwork Charitable Trust and the Ogmore Valley Male Voice Choir.