£2m funding boost for Carlisle museum
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle is expected to be awarded £2m as part of the Chancellor's £400m budget boost for culture and arts.
The Chancellor will provide more than £400 million of additional support for the badly hit culture sector in his Budget on Wednesday, as a Tory grandee warned taxes would “have to go up”.
Rishi Sunak is preparing to hand out £408 million to help museums, theatres and galleries in England to reopen once coronavirus restrictions start to ease in the coming months.
In preparation for Wednesday’s Budget, the Treasury on Monday evening revealed a series of funding packages targeting support at the beleaguered culture, sport and pub trades which have seen profits and activity knocked since social distancing was introduced at the start of the Covid outbreak last year.
Mr Sunak is expected to pump an extra £300 million into the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, as part of the measures.
National museums and cultural bodies will also receive £90 million to help keep them afloat until they can open their doors on May 17 at the earliest and £18.8 million will be provided for community cultural projects.
An additional £77 million will be given to the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to provide their culture groups with similar backing.
The Chancellor said: “Throughout the crisis we have done everything we can to support our world-renowned arts and cultural industries, and it’s only right that we continue to build on our historic package of support for the sector.
“This industry is a significant driver of economic activity, employing more than 700,000 people in jobs across the UK, and I am committed to ensuring the arts are equipped to captivate audiences in the months and years to come.”
Watch live coverage of the Chancellor's Budget in an ITV News special programme - Wednesday 3 March from 12.15 on ITV and itv.com/news