Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has been consulted on the transfer of the Royal Photographic Society's collection from the National Media Museum to the Victoria and Albert Museum.

DCMS museums operate at arm’s length from government and the transfer of objects between national museums is a matter for the boards of the museums. The Trustees of the Science Museum approved the transfer of the Royal Photographic Society’s collection to the V&A, and the Royal Photographic Society also approve of the transfer. The Department was informed in December 2015.

The V&A intend to store, digitise and make the photographic collection available as part of its planned International Photography Resource Centre, which will provide the public with a world-class facility to access the consolidated collection.