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Museums and galleries in the United Kingdom are relatively lightly legislated or regulated. A number of Acts of Parliament deal with individual museum’s issues, but these relate mostly to the governance or constitutional arrangements of the national museums. For example, it is under the terms of the Museums and Galleries Act 1992 that the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery maintain a collection of portraits in all media of the most eminent persons in British history from the earliest times to the present day. Other types of legislation affecting museums include amendments to existing legislation and the unintended consequences of legislation. This section considers all three types.

Recent examples of intentional legislation include the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009 which granted the trustees of named British national institutions the power to de-accession any artifacts or cultural objects currently held in their collections that were stolen by or on behalf of the Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945, so that these could be returned to their lawful owners or heirs.

More often, legislation comprises amendments to existing legislation. The Regulatory Reform (Museum of London) (Location of Premises) Order 2004, for example, permitted the Museum of London to operate a museum anywhere within the confines of Greater London, rather than within the limits of the City of London. This made it legally possible for the Museum of London to merge with the Museum in Docklands. Legislation may also serve to enable policy-led changes to the infrastructure. Following its review of non-departmental public bodies (September 2010; UK Parliament 2010), the government proposed to abolish, merge, and modify the constitution and the functions of a number of quangos including MLA, which was abolished. This became law under the Public Bodies Act 2011.

Local authority museums, core funded from taxation, make up nearly half of accredited museums throughout the UK.¹ Until the explosion of independent museum foundations in the 1960s and 1970s, these constituted the backbone of regional and local museum provision. The most important local authority museums often originated from the Victorians’ enthusiasm for the educational power of culture, art, and artifacts. A series of Acts that were passed over a period of 50 years from 1845 authorized them to spend money on establishing, collecting for, and running museums. The Museums Act 1845 enabled authorities in places with populations of 10,000 people or more to levy a halfpenny rate; the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1855 allowed for a one penny rate to buy specimens; the Public Libraries (England and Scotland) Amendment Act 1866 allowed authorities with libraries to open museums; the Museums and Gymnasiums Act 1891 allowed all urban authorities to provide support for museums from rates except London (until 1901); and the Public Libraries Act 1892 transferred responsibility for museums to new library authorities.

The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 replaced all the previous legislation. It confirmed that local authorities could fund and run museums if they wished but they were not statutorily obliged to do so. The benefits of this are still disputed. Although museums benefit from not being tied down by the inflexible regulation that inevitably accompanies statutory obligations established by Parliament, they remain very vulnerable to funding cuts because the statutory services have priority when resources are tight. Many museum professionals, therefore, consider that securing statutory status should be the top policy objective for the sector. But it is very unlikely that local authorities would willingly add to their statutory obligations and the costs that go with it.

Arguably, more importance is attached to the unintended consequences of legislation. Museums are subject to the law in the same way as any other institution or individual. Many Acts of Parliament are passed which impact upon museums although they were not in the mind of the legislators. There are numerous examples. The Town and Country Planning Act 1990, for example, covers many aspects of strategic development planning which may affect the building of new museums and conservation-led regeneration. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (amended 2005) makes it unlawful to discriminate against disabled persons, as well as making provision about the employment of disabled persons. This has had a major impact on museums in historic buildings where accessibility and authenticity can conflict. It adds to a situation created by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, where health and safety issues have dominated the management of many museum buildings, at considerable cost and occasionally in a way that seriously compromises interpretation.

In some cases the legislation has no particular impact on museums other than bringing significant additional costs which museums may ill afford. The Employment Rights Act 1996, for example, sets out detailed processes and conditions which employers must respect, regardless of cost or bureaucratic inconvenience. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 enables a person to make a request for information to a public authority and entitles them to be informed in writing whether that information is available. The costs of Freedom of Information inquiries are considered almost prohibitive.

Other legislation aimed at a much wider sector will challenge museums to be clear about their purpose. The Charities Act 2006 expands the existing four categories of “charitable purpose” (the relief of poverty, the advancement of education, the advancement of religion, and other purposes beneficial to the community) developed by courts over the years. There are now 13 categories in total, including “the advancement of arts, culture, heritage or science.” All charities must demonstrate that their purposes are for public benefit. This affects private museums, which may seek tax concessions, but whose purpose may not be for public benefit.