The Joint Museums Committee met to discuss performance and finance reports, future fees and charges, the Tickenhill Collection Trust, and the committee's work programme. The meeting was scheduled to take place at the City Museum and Art Gallery.

2026-27 Fees and Charges

The committee was scheduled to discuss proposed changes to museum fees and charges for 2026-27. Museums Worcestershire reportedly brings proposed changes to the Joint Museums Committee annually, before they are included in both partner authority approval processes.

The proposed charges were said to be primarily based on inflationary increases, using current consumer price indexes and inflationary increases in staff costs. The report pack noted that,

As in previous years, following advice from our commissioned retail consultant, we have rounded most proposed charges to the nearest psychological price point, a strategy common amongst successful visitor attractions. The service has benchmarked commercial fees across the service against others locally.

Learning and admission fees at The Commandery were also benchmarked by an external consultant as part of the ongoing Worcestershire Soldier project.

In 2019, the Joint Committee approved a proposal to align archaeology deposit fees with the national average, but over a period so that archaeology units could incorporate this change within their planning. The report pack stated that the proposal for this year was to revert to a single set of archaeology deposit fees, benchmarked to the national average. A new proposed charge would recognise the staff time for research enquiries and loan requests.

The planned refurbishment of galleries at the Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum was said to provide an opportunity to develop new income streams for commercial hire from 2027. New charges were proposed to enable this, based on the record of charges at The Commandery and aligned to the fees at the other sites.

The approval of admissions charges to Hartlebury Castle, which is shared with Hartlebury Castle Preservation Trust, is delegated to the County Council's Assistant Director (Communities) in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of this committee.

The museum service was said to be adopting a new online ticketing provider this year, following the upcoming closure of the Art Fund's Art Tickets system. As this would include a booking fee, charge application has been reviewed to ensure that visitors are not having to manage both an inflationary increase and a booking fee.

The report pack stated that while fees and charges are considered by the two authorities on a financial year basis, the majority of the publicity for museums is produced annually for a calendar year, and that it was proposed that 2026 publicity should include any increased prices, rather than delaying changes.

Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 2025/26 Finance Report and 2025/27 Budget

The committee was scheduled to review financial monitoring details, including budget variances for the period ending 30 September 2025. They were also scheduled to agree the budget for 2026/27.

The forecast year-end position for the city-hosted teams at Quarter 2 was a £5,052 deficit. Museums Worcestershire has been granted a Museum Renewal Fund grant by Arts Council England of £220,000. This funding supports the development of future income growth and closer community working. There is funding within this for some core staff time, and this can be seen in the variance at the Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum and the County Museum.

Income at The Commandery was said to remain strong. At the Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum, the summer charging exhibition performed under target. At the County Museum, although income from learning activities continues positively, the general visitor income has plateaued, with the transport gallery remaining closed due to maintenance of the building thought to be the main cause.

Worcester City Council is currently working towards a 2-year savings plan to meet the council's funding gap. Worcestershire County Council is currently in negotiation with the County Museum landlord and partner at Hartlebury Castle.

Under the terms of the agreement, any variance to budget within 5% will be transferred to the Joint Museum general reserve. The value of the reserve at the end of Quarter 2 was £251,527.

Quarter 1 Performance Report 2025-26

The committee was scheduled to note the performance information for the first quarter of 2025-26. According to the report pack, all performance in Quarter 1 continued on an upward trend. Visitors to the Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum continued steady despite the introduction of a charge for all temporary exhibitions, with a larger proportion of visitors now only visiting the free elements of the museum, which include the new Your Worcester displays. Engagement with formal and informal learning continues strongly.

The website indicator shows a significant change, but this does not reflect a change in usage, but instead a change in the analytics used to collect user data. This change was made in March 2025, meaning visitors to the website who reject cookies can no longer be counted. The 2025-26 level will become a new baseline to compare against in future years.

Museums Worcestershire were successful in their application to the Arts Council's Museums Renewal Fund which is supporting initiatives in quarters 2 to 4. The main funded areas are: maximising the opportunity of a learning centre at the Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum, maximising the opportunity of new collections displays, maximising the opportunity of the 375th anniversary of the Battle of Worcester, and supporting local communities visiting as charges increase.

The County Museum at Hartlebury Castle is one of a small number across the country to be awarded the VisitEngland Gold Accolade in 2025.

The report pack also contained information about accessibility at the Worcestershire County Museum, The Commandery in Worcester, and the Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum, as well as Museums Worcestershire's offer for home educators.

Tickenhill Collection Trust Annual Report

The committee was scheduled to approve the annual report for the Tickenhill Collection 2024-25, for submission to the Charity Commission¹. Museums Worcestershire supports the working of the Tickenhill Collection Trust, registered charity 527509, as part of its management of the Worcestershire County Museum. The Tickenhill Collection was the foundation of the museum and holds around a third of the County Council's Museum collection. The sole trustee of this charity is Worcestershire County Council.

Both income and expenditure for the Trust in 2024-25 were nil, with work undertaken by volunteers and supported by staff funded by Worcestershire County Council. The Tickenhill Collection continues to be managed and cared for as part of the wider Worcestershire County Museum collection.

The trusteeship of the Tickenhill Collection Trust can be transferred to a new unitary at local government reorganisation in Worcestershire, and this will be reviewed following Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's decision on options.

Joint Museums Committee Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to note its future work programme and consider whether there are any additional matters it would wish to be incorporated.