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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with the Victoria and Albert Museum about securing for the Theatre & Performance Collection (1) expert custodianship, and (2) continued safe access for (a) researchers, and (2) other members of the public.

The V&A Museum has a duty to protect its collections and make them available to the public. The responsibility to determine how to discharge this duty is delegated to the Museum, as an Arm’s Length Body of Government. As such, the proposed restructure of the V&A’s Curatorial, Research and National Art Library departments is an operational matter for the Museum.

As the sponsor department, we have a close working relationship with the museum and I am assured that - even after these changes are made - there will be no material impact on public access, including for research purposes, to the Theatre and Performance Collection, and that appropriate expertise will be retained when the new structure is in place.