Jowell hails 30 million extra visits to England's free museums » Local Government » 24dash.com

Nearly 30 million extra visits to England's national museums and galleries have been made, five years after entry charges were scrapped, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell announced today.

Government investment, and changes to the tax regime, have meant that places like the Natural History and Science Museums in London, the V&A, the National Railway Museum in York and the National Museums in Liverpool have seen admissions soar by 29 million since 2001.

New figures, released today, also show:

An 83 per cent increase in total visits to formerly charging museums since 2001, representing an extra 6.5 million visits in 2006, making it the best year ever for admissions nationally. Visits to the former charging national museums in London up by 86 per cent on 2001 with visits to the V&A up 122 per cent, the Natural History Museum by 112 per cent and the Science Museum by 81 per cent. Visits to DCMS sponsored museums outside London up by 75 per cent, with National Museums Liverpool up by 138 per cent, the Zoological Museum in Tring by 81 per cent and the National Railway Museum in York by 63 per cent.

Ms Jowell said: "These are inspirational figures. They completely vindicate our decision to put free admission at the heart of our cultural policy since 1997.

"There is a real appetite for serious culture in this country - when the obstacle of entry fees is swept away, people come in their millions, and keep coming.

"Our museums and galleries are internationally renowned. I am pleased that, thanks to Government investment, nearly 30 million extra visits have taken place.

"The figures also give the lie to the myth that this is all about the same people visiting more often: a half of all visits are by new visitors."

Figures also show that visits to the national museums that were already or have always been free, such as the National gallery and the British Museum, rose by eight per cent over the same period.