Recommendation 4

The Department relies heavily on museums and galleries and their boards to ensure their own financial resilience, but their boards are not consistently well-equipped to do this effectively. As arms-length bodies, museums and galleries have primary responsibility for their ongoing financial resilience, with their boards playing an important role in ensuring they meet this responsibility. As at October 2025, the vacancy rate across all 15 museum and gallery boards was 15%, with the average time taken 4 in 2024–25 to make a board appointment being 219 days, far more than the target of 90 days. Delays to appointments can mean capability gaps on boards are not addressed as quickly as required. Factors outside the Department’s control, such as board posts being unpaid and the 2024 general election, have contributed to the delays. The Department has made a number of changes to speed up its processes, and is making more, in response to internal and external reviews it has commissioned. As a result, the speed of board appointments has improved, and the Department expects this to continue. recommendation The Department should report to us in six months on: a. The steps it has taken to ensure that those it appoints to the Boards of the museums and galleries have the right mix of skills required for the Boards to fulfil their functions effectively; and b. The latest data for its performance in making these appointments, including their speed.