Recommendation 12

The Department is working to improve its oversight arrangements so that it has a clearer measure of the financial resilience of each museum or gallery.30 It told us that it considers that it has good insight into, and understanding of, what is going on with the museums and galleries through its regular engagement with them. It holds quarterly partnership meetings with each museum and gallery, attended by the accounting officer and chief finance officer of that body, and receives from each a comprehensive management information pack and quarterly risk register. At these meetings, the Department and museums and galleries discuss their performance and museums and galleries can raise matters of concern. It considers that these arrangements provide it with robust data about the museums and galleries. However, it did acknowledge that it needed to be 27 Qq 32, 45 and 50 28 Qq 32 and 45 29 Qq 6-7 and 32 30 C&AG’s report, paras 18 and 3.17 11 more systematic in its collection of information to give it a greater idea of their financial resilience and enable it to map key indicators of resilience across the museums and galleries.31