External Policy Responses 2001 Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec December 2001 Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, Best Value Performance Indicators 2002/2003 (consultation document)
07/12/01 MLA also commented on these suggested changes to performance indicators relevant to our sector, which are used to measure local authority performance (published by the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions). MLA felt the indicators should remain national and not left to local discretion, and whilst we recognised that some of the measures were not as helpful as they could be, it was a good idea to hang on to the existing indicators while better measures were being developed. October 2001 Audit Commission, Delivering Improvement Together, (strategy consultation document)
26/10/02 MLA welcomed the proposals in the Audit Commission’s strategy document: we were happy to endorse its plans to focus on the public and the user’s experience of public services and were keen to see it seize the opportunities offered by the emerging regional agenda. September 2001 Research Support Libraries Group, Call for Evidence
MLA’s comments on the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s plans to ensure that UK researchers in all disciplines have access to world class information resources endorsed the idea of a national strategy for managing library and information resources, as well as closer collaboration between libraries in higher education and national libraries. August 2001 Response to the Heritage Lottery Fund strategic plan consultation document: The Horizons of Heritage
24/08/01 Responding to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) strategic consultation document The Horizons of Heritage, MLA has indicated its support of the strategic priorities outlined, recognising the close match the priorities have with those of MLA. The response welcomes HLF's commitment to wider engagement and applauds the intention to share what has been learnt from previous experience. The response recognises that there are a number of areas where HLF and MLA could usefully address issues of mutual concern. July 2001 MLA supports Curriculum Online
01/07/01 Responding to the Department for Education & Skills/National Grid for Learning consultation document Curriculum Online, MLA has said that museums, archives and libraries can provide enormous support for the school curriculum, and that Curriculum Online provides an opportunity to develop new ways in which learning can be facilitated and supported. Warning that online learning must be complemented by interaction with real objects and documents, it urges DFES/NGfL to work closely with museums, archives and libraries, as well as with MLA, in developing its ideas. June 2001 Response to the DCMS green paper Culture and Creativity: the Next Ten Years
15/06/01 Welcoming the recognition of the in the green paper of the interdependency of culture and learning, MLA's response aims to demonstrate that the contribution that the museums, archives and libraries sector can make extends not only throughout the entire cultural arena but well beyond, and also suggests that its own 2010 review can help turn this series of individual policy initiatives into a coherent strategy for the sector as a whole. Response to the Department for Education & Employment consultation document Schools: Building on Success
01/06/01 Responding to the Department for Education & Employment consultation document Schools: Building on Success, MLA has welcomed the emphasis on helping children to be self-reliant and manage their own learning, but calls for a much less traditional approach, citing evidence to show that museums, archives and libraries can motivate and inspire children and young people to learn. The response suggests that the proposed Regional Learning Support Units could assist museums, archives and libraries to work in partnership with formal education, and urges DfEE to consider an equivalent investment in these Units on its part. May 2001 Response to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions consultation paper Working with Others to Achieve Best Value
25/05/01 Responding to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions consultation paper Working with Others to Achieve Best Value, MLA has acknowledged that the proposals should remove constraints on the sector's activities, permitting joint working and funding arrangements and encouraging greater use of the well being power, although they fail to address the issue of inadequate core resources. Response to the Patent Office consultation paper Copyright and Visually Impaired People
25/05/01 Responding to the Patent Office consultation paper on copyright and visually impaired people, MLA has said that the issue is one of fundamental rights, and that a distinction should be made between straightforward copying for the convenience of a fully sighted person and reformatting in order to render something usable by someone with a visual impairment, with the burden of proof on publishers to show that commercial damage has been done, rather than on the visually impaired community to show that it has not. Response to the Department of Trade and Industry consultation on draft legislation: The Export Control and Non-Proliferation Bill
24/05/01 MLA has suggested to the Departments of Trade & Industry and Culture, Media & Sport that new legislation regulating the export of objects of cultural significance offers an opportunity to remodel the way in which the Secretary of State's powers are exercised, and has suggested how the licensing and control system could be developed to provide a fully comprehensive data collection system, to the general benefit of this country's cultural heritage. April 2001 MLA gives evidence to Commons Committee on foot & mouth and museums
20/04/01 In a written submission to the Commons Culture, Media & Sport Committee inquiry into tourism information and promotion in the light of the current foot & mouth outbreak, MLA has pointed out that museums are an important part of rural tourism, and any decrease in UK short break holidays will have a knock-on effect on museums. It also explains that many are independent charities and operate without subsidy, and that some may risk permanent closure as a result of interruption of services, to the detriment of the rural economy generally. MLA has already proposed to the Secretary of State a £5 million stabilisation fund to help rural and countryside museums recover from the crisis. The full text of the evidence will be posted on this site as soon as it has been published in Hansard. Response to the Department for Education & Employment consultation paper Building a Stronger Network: Developing the role of the National Training Organisations
12/04/01 Responding to the DfEE consultation paper, MLA proposes the creation of a new, broadly-based, effective and sustainable National Training Organisation (NTO) for the cultural sector. March 2001 Response to the European Commission proposal concerning the European Union Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP6)
29/03/01 MLA has commented on the European Commission proposal concerning the European Union Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP6), pointing out that it omits any reference to scientific and technical research for cultural heritage, warning that an important funding stream for research for the museums, archives & libraries sector could be lost as a result, and pointing out that cultural heritage is a resource that needs protection through advances in scientific and technological research. Response to the European Union Culture 2000 programme
29/03/01 MLA has also responded to the European Union Culture 2000 programme, expressing concern at the priority given to very narrowly focussed aspects of cultural activity and pointing out that there are few opportunities for museums, libraries and archives to make use of the programme. Response to the Department for Culture, Media & Sport about the impact of foot and mouth disease on the rural economy
28/03/01 In a letter from Board Chairman Matthew Evans, MLA has responded to the request from DCMS and the Rural Task Force for information about the impact of the outbreak upon the rural economy and has proposed the establishment of a £5 million stabilisation and relief fund. Teachers should be able to train in museums, libraries and archives, says MLA.
14/03/01 Responding to the Teacher Training Agency review of the requirements for Initial Teacher Training, set out in Department for Education & Employment Circular 4/98, MLA has strongly supported the call for flexibility in what constitutes ‘school’ time. It points out that many museums and some archives have educators who are qualified teachers on their staffs, and that many library authorities run supervised homework clubs, and wants to see such services added to the list of organisations that could offer placements to trainee teachers. Click here for the full text of MLA's response. MLA calls for extension of e-Government Interoperability Framework
07/03/01 MLA's response to version 2 of the e-Government Interoperability Framework has called for its extension to cover virtual reality applications, Voice XML and Voice over Internet Protocols. Click here for the full text of MLA's comments. February 2001 Museums, libraries and archives can contribute greatly to new local government power to promote well-being
06/02/01 In a letter from Chief Executive Neville Mackay, MLA has responded to the Department of the Environment, Transport & the Regions draft guidance on the new local authority power to promote well-being, highlighting the contribution that museums, archives and libraries can make to learning and economic development, as well as to cultural well-being. Response to the Department for Culture, Media & Sport Treasure Act 1996 Review consultation paper
21/02/01 MLA has responded to the Department for Culture, Media & Sport review of the Treasure Act 1996, calling for a properly resourced system of trusted third parties for the acceptance of treasure finds and more co-ordination in provision of funding for the acquisition of treasure, and saying that a secure Web site, with digital images, could dramatically improve the management and cost-effectiveness of dealing with finds.
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