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A
renaissance in museums is making them fit for the 21st century
THE Museums,
Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) has announced the results of
the first phase of Renaissance in the Regions, its £150 million
programme designed to raise standards in all museums and make them
fit for the demands of the 21st century. Launched in 2002, it is the
most ground-breaking investment in England’s museums which is
changing the way museums work, how they care for their collections
and interact with their audiences with more people than ever before
choosing to visit.
MLA has secured £150 million in new government funding between 2002
and 2008 and of this, £12.2m has been awarded to North West regional
museums, including the North West Hub, one of a network set up in
nine English regions to act as flagship museums and promote good
practice. North West Hub partner museums and services include
Manchester City Galleries (lead partner), Bolton Museum and Art
Gallery, Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, Tullie House Museum
and Art Gallery, Carlisle and University of Manchester Museums and
Galleries: Manchester Museum and Whitworth Gallery.
The programme has successfully demonstrated that efficiently managed
investment can deliver extraordinary results. Announcing the results
of the first phase, Culture Minister, David Lammy says:- “The
Renaissance of our great regional museums and galleries is clearly
under way. Increased participation by new users from all walks of
life is key to ensuring museums become truly thriving centres of
regional life. They are also spreading innovation and expertise to
smaller venues to extend good practice across the museum sector so
that all can benefit. We want everyone to value museums because they
offer services and experiences that make people’s lives richer. Good
museums promote learning, a sense of belonging, creativity and
economic regeneration.”
A snapshot of key achievements:-
More visits to museums:-
In 2005-06 the number of visits to
Hub museums exceeded 13 million, 1,192,524 of which took place in
the North West, representing an increase of 2.3% in the region since
2002-03. Creation of new posts:-
By 2008, approximately £31m will have
been invested in collections across England, and by 2008, at least
580 new posts will have been created, 188 of them curatorial posts.
More schools than ever before using museums to inspire children
to learn:- Over the past 3 years visits by children (5-16 yrs)
with their schools increased to over 836,000 in 2005/6 with 78,669
visits in the North West, representing an increase of 26.5% in the
region since 2002-03. In the same period there has been a 108.8%
increase in the North West in the number of instances of children
participating in organised activities (workshops, quizzes, family
trails, art carts, etc) at Hub museums outside of school.
Meeting Special Needs:-
In 2005/06 over 17,000 school visits
were made to Hub Museums across England by children with special
educational needs.
Reaching new audiences:-
The number of visits by people from
non-traditional audiences has increased by 6.8% since 2002/03. In
the last two years, Hubs have attracted over 900,000 new users from
these sections of the community of which 84,625 new users were in
the North West.
Teaching the teachers:-
Teachers are increasingly finding
museums to be an invaluable resource. In addition to visits with
classes, in 2005-06 there were nearly 20,000 instances of teachers
across England contacting museum Hubs for INSET training,
secondments and the development of learning resources at museums or
off-site. Taking museums to the people:-
Over the past 3 years there has
been a 7-fold (663.6%) increase across England in the instances of
children participating in outreach activities organised by Hub
museums off site. In 2005/06 there were 20,916 instances of 5-16
year olds participating in such activities in the North West and
4,611 instances of adults participating in outreach activities.
Museums at the heart of the community:-
10,450 adult community
groups have participated in Hub museum activities across England on
and off site.
Designation Challenge Fund:-
In April 2006 £3.6 million was
awarded to collections recognised as having outstanding national and
international importance to raise the profile of the collections and
attract more visitors. By 2008 £12.8m will have been invested
through this fund.
Subject Specialist Networks:-
£299,332 has been invested in
this programme to date and a second round of funding was announced
in April 2006. 13 Exploratory grants have been awarded to Networks
where museums from across the country pool information and resources
to see what they can achieve as a group rather than individually.
Renaissance in the Regions North West Hub lead, Virginia Tandy
says:- “For the first time ever, investment from central
government is creating regional centres of excellence to form the
amazing success that is England’s museums sector today. Renaissance
is enabling museums to provide more effective, higher quality
services to reach larger numbers of people, from more diverse
backgrounds. They are providing rich learning resources through our
great collections, and make them accessible both on-site and by
taking them into the heart of different communities. The programme
is preparing the way to make our museums the pride of the nation for
2012.” |
Institute of Directors/Croner Reward, Directors Rewards Survey 2006
THE Institute of Directors (IoD’s)
annual Directors R£wards survey, carried out by Croner Reward,
analysed 3,815 jobs from around 1,000 organisations. The results,
published, are based on evidence drawn from all sectors and size of
company, rather than the usual staple of only FTSE 100 companies.
Commenting on the survey, Miles Templeman, Director General of the
IoD said:- “It is right that directors pay is coming under
ever increasing scrutiny but we need to highlight the clear
distinction between the FTSE 100 and the vast majority of business
which makes up ‘UK Plc’. SMEs form the lifeblood of the UK
economy and our economic activity. The R£ward survey
demonstrates that, beyond the headlines, the reality of working life
in Boardroom Britain is that average pay increases are moderate
(3.2%), and directors are working longer hours. Significant numbers
do not take their holiday entitlement and there are large
disparities in regional pay. To add further cause for concern, the
issue of the gender gap is not resolved.”
Gender Gap
The Rewards survey shows that female executives are still getting
paid less than their male colleagues.
* A female director now earns an average of £60, 000 compared with
the average male director’s basic pay of £74, 028.
* The biggest gaps appeared in the private services and voluntary
sectors where female pay was 25% below that of their male
counterparts.
* In the private sector, this means an average salary of £55, 000
for a female director compared with £74, 440 for a man.
* In the voluntary sector the average salary for female directors
was £47, 840 compared with £64, 500 for a male director.
To make matters worse, the research shows that female managing
directors in medium and large companies are actually working longer
hours than their male counterparts – 51.25 hours per week, (compared
with 50 hours for men in small to medium sized companies) and 57
hours a week compared to 55 in larger companies.
Laura Wolfe, Regional Director of the IoD in the North West said:-
“Although there has been an overall decrease from 24% last
year, to 19% this year, this is hardly grounds for celebration. Even
those who break through the glass ceiling and reach board level will
find there is another roof over their heads. The pay gap has
often been justified on the basis that women work shorter hours. Our
survey refutes that suggestion. Not only are women directors being
paid less, they are also working longer hours.”
Regional Pay
The survey also found wide disparities of executive pay
within different regions of the UK. London-based directors, for
example, earn around a 3rd more than their counterparts in Northern
Ireland (£75, 000 compared with £55, 000).
In general, directors in the North West pay the average director 13%
below the national rate, compared with East Midlands paying 3.2%
more, Scotland 11% less and Northern Ireland 21% less than the
national average.
Hours of Work and Holiday
The survey shows that around a quarter of business bosses
are working in excess of 55 hours a week.
Directors also seldom take their full holiday entitlement. The
average number of holidays not taken is 5. This increases to 10 days
in small companies and to 8 in medium and large companies.
Andrew Walker, Business Director at Croner Reward said:-
“Clients tell us that with ever increasing regulation and the extra
burden that numerous legislative changes have placed on business, it
is much harder to establish a meaningful work-life balance for many
directors in small firms. Looking at the data in this year’s survey,
the line between these two areas seems to have become more blurred
than ever for many at the top of their chosen career.”
Non-Executive Directors
The survey shows that large increases for non executive
salaries have not been received by the majority of British non exec
directors.
* In small companies, the average pay per day is £1, 020; for medium
companies it is £867 and for those working in larger companies it is
£2, 080.
* On average 24% of non-executive directors work unpaid.
* 42% of non-executives had no pay increase last year compared to
13% in 2005.
* Those non-executives who did receive a pay increase had an average
of 3%.
Public Sector vs. Private Sector Pay
In 2005, managing directors in the public sector were paid less than
those in financial services, private services and the manufacturing
sector.
In 2006, the survey shows that they have now shot up to being the
second highest paid managing directors, averaging £85, 000 a year.
Managing directors in the financial services come out on top yet
again on an average salary of £113, 450. Meanwhile, their
counterparts in the manufacturing sector have seen their pay
decrease by over £3,000.
Pay for all ‘other’ directors in financial services, private
services, the manufacturing sector and voluntary services have all
gone up from last year, apart from those working in the public
sector who have seen a pay decrease from £70, 000 to £65,000 a year.
Air Ambulance Bebington on the Wirral called out
THE North West Air Ambulance was
called out at 12.35pm on 31 October 2006 to a walking incident at
Bebington on the Wirral.
A woman in her 60s
had been walking when she slipped. With a suspected fractured ankle,
she was flown by the North West Air Ambulance to Murray landing Pad
and then taken to Arrow Park Hospital by land ambulance. |
