Updated 1 April 2020
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
South East Museum Development Programme (SEMDP)
We will update our Coronavirus Guidance regularly, signposting you to the most relevant sources of information.
Sign up to our newsletter where we will share further updates, follow our Twitter feed and please do get in touch if you have any queries.
Museums are asked to log concerns they are experiencing with the Arts Council at Coronavirus-Queries@artscouncil.org.uk
INDEX
[Latest News]
[Coronavirus Guidance]
[Support for Museums]
LATEST NEWS
NLHF announces new £50m emergency fund to support heritage in crisis
Crisis funding for UK heritage affected by Covid-19
- Heritage Emergency Fund will address immediate pressures over the next 3-6 months
- Grants between £3,000-50,000 will be available to organisations that have received funding in the past and are either a current grantee, or still under contract following a previous grant.
- Applications will be open to the full breadth of heritage, from historic sites, industrial and maritime heritage, museums, libraries and archives to parks and gardens and landscapes and nature.
- Priority will be given where there is limited or no access to other sources of support, or where heritage is most at risk.
Priority within the Fund will be given to organisations:
- Managing or caring for at-risk heritage or those working to meet our priority outcomes around economic regeneration, inclusion and wellbeing – as defined within our Strategic Funding Framework.
- Working within one or more of the 13 Areas of Focus we identified in our Strategic Funding Framework. These are communities experiencing social deprivation which are central to place-making within these neighbourhoods.
- Which are not eligible for or in receipt of other emergency funding either from Government and/or other National Lottery distributors.
- Which have limited alternative options of emergency support and are already mitigating risks through other measures eg putting projects on hold, rephasing milestones, repurposing other funding to support day-to-day operations.
- Which are at greatest financial risk from coronavirus (COVID-19) due to a reliance on trading or community fundraising income streams.
- Are at greatest financial risk due to having limited reserves ie less than three months and limited access to the short-term liquidity needed for essential activity.
How to apply? Details provided on the selection criteria and how to apply in the next few days.
Latest information about NLHF’s Coronavirus support initiatives.
Important: Museums cannot receive Emergency Response Funding from both ACE and NLHF.
Free Coronavirus HR Helpline for AIM members
Association of Independent Museums (AIM)
TheHRDept are offering AIM members free HR advice to assist on issues around Coronavirus. Support might cover:
- Questions about the Job Retention Scheme
- Key updates to national guidance
- Updates to affected Client policies
- Draft letters
- Draft settlement agreements.
Support will be provided by phone and/or email between the working hours of 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday.
Please note, this support is for HR issues directly related to the Coronavirus outbreak and the challenges resulting from it.
To access this free support, please email Margaret Harrison at AIM with details of your HR query, on margaret@aim-museums.co.uk. Margaret will then put you in touch with The HR Dept.
Check out this useful page of Coronavirus HR FAQs for employers put together by TheHRDept.
ACE announces 12-month extension to current Accreditation award status for Museums and Galleries in the United Kingdom
Arts Council England and our UK Accreditation partners, the Welsh Government, Museums Galleries Scotland and Northern Ireland Museums, recognise that many museums are closing their sites due to the impact of Covid-19 and in response to Government advice.
In order to support the sector during these unprecedented times all Accredited Museums in the UK will have their current award status extended for an additional 12 months.
ACE are also postponing all future Accreditation Panel meetings, including the upcoming meeting scheduled for 28 April 2020.
ACE will be publishing an FAQ with more detail on what this means and how it might affect you by early next week. In the meantime, if you have any questions please do get in touch at: accreditation@artscouncil.org.uk
ACE announces £160 million Emergency Funding Relief scheme
- £90million for NPOs to reboot creative work and alleviate financial pressure
- £50million for non-NPOs. Max £35K per org. Must have track record of publicly funded activity. Help to get back on feet and/or deliver work to contribute to let’s create. Expected to support freelancers.
- £20million for freelancers.
- Guidance for applying announced 30 March.
- Must register for Grantium by 3 April.
AIM launches Online Surgery Service
AIM is working with the pool of consultants who normally provide their Prospering Boards consultancies to offer an online support service for museums.
The consultants can offer support with the issues your museum is facing right now as a result of the Coronavirus situation and, looking to the future, help in rethinking how you might need to adapt and change.
Issues might include: Finance / Leadership / People / Planning
Successful applicants will be allocated one hour of time with a consultant by email, phone or video conferencing.
CORONAVIRUS GUIDANCE
Information and advice for the general public
Latest advice from the GOV.UK
Latest advice from NHS
Latest advice from Public Health England
Latest advice from MIND: Coronavirus and your wellbeing
Information and advice for the businesses and charities
Latest government advice for employers and businesses
Latest advice from the Federation of Small Businesses
Latest advice from Charity Finance Group (CFG)
Latest advice from NCVO: National Council of Voluntary Organisations
Latest advice from ACAS: Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
Latest government support initiatives for businesses
Information and advice for museums
Latest advice from Arts Council England
Latest advice from AIM: Association of Independent Museums
Latest advice from NLHF: National Lottery Heritage Fund
Latest advice from Local Government Association
Latest advice from Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Resources for museums
Advice about Business Continuity ‘Expect the Unexpected’ from DCMS
Advice about HR from AIM: HR advice from TheHRDept
Advice and resources for employers to support home working from Roots HR
Advice about Business Resilience from AIM: Business Resilience Checklist
Advice about Risk Management from GOV.UK
Advice about contractual implications of cancelling events from Bates Wells
Advice about reviewing your building risk assessments from the London Fire Brigade
Advice on how to be more accessible on social media from the Disability Cooperative Network (DCN)
Example of Risk assessment by Hastings Museum Covid-19
Example of Coronavirus Pandemic Plan by Chatham Historic Dockyards Trust
Example of Pandemic Planning – Departmental Analysis and Impact Assessment – Chatham Historic Dockyards Trust
Advice about Wellbeing
Advice from MIND: Coronavirus and your wellbeing
Advice for Museum Educators about Mental Health and COVID-19 from Group for Education in Museums (GEM)
Advice on looking after your mental health while working from home from the Mental Health Foundation.
Advice from the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance
Advice about Digital
‘Clovid-19: Ultimate Guide to Free Video Conferencing and Collaboration Tools’ by UCToday
Advice about remote volunteer from East Midlands Museum Development
Example of a Digital Museum from Hastings Museum
Digital Learning Resources from Group for Education in Museums (GEM)
Advice on How to Make a Pod-cast and other content from Culture 24
Advice on creating videos and live streaming from Museum Development London
Advice about Security
The Security Audit – how to protect your collections from fire, theft, flood and damage from Collections Trust
Ten Steps to a Museum Emergency Plan from SW Federation of Museums & Galleries
Emergency Planning for Collections from Collections Trust
Pocket Salvage Guide by Museum Development London
Emergency Planning e-tool from Museum of London
Emergency Planning toolkit from Share East Museums
Preventing Heritage Crime advice from Historic England
Heritage Watch app for Kent, from Historic England
SUPPORT FOR MUSEUMS
Arts Council England
Latest advice from Arts Council England,
Museums should log concerns about how the Coronavirus will impact their museum at Coronavirus-Queries@artscouncil.org.uk.
Emergency Funding Relief scheme for arts organisation (including museums)
- £90million for NPOs to reboot creative work and alleviate financial pressure
- £50million for non-NPOs. Max £35K per org. Must have track record of publicly funded activity. Help to get back on feet and/or deliver work to contribute to let’s create. Expected to support freelancers.
- £20million for freelancers.
- Guidance for applying announced 31 March.
- Must register for Grantium by early April.
National Heritage Lottery Fund
Crisis funding for UK heritage affected by Covid-19
- Heritage Emergency Fund will address immediate pressures over the next 3-6 months
- Grants between £3,000-50,000 will be available to organisations that have received funding in the past and are either a current grantee, or still under contract following a previous grant.
- Applications will be open to the full breadth of heritage, from historic sites, industrial and maritime heritage, museums, libraries and archives to parks and gardens and landscapes and nature.
- Priority will be given where there is limited or no access to other sources of support, or where heritage is most at risk.
Government Support for Employers and Businesses
Latest advice from GOV.UK
Latest government support initiatives for businesses
The Chancellor has set out a package of temporary, timely and targeted measures to support public services, people and businesses through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19.
This includes a package of measures to support businesses including:
- a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
- deferring VAT and Income Tax payments
- a Statutory Sick Pay relief package for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs)
- a 12-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality, leisure and nursery businesses in England
- small business grant funding of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief
- grant funding of £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
- the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank
- a new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms, helping them bridge coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans
- the HMRC Time To Pay Scheme
AIM: Association of Independent Museums
Latest advice from AIM: Association of Independent Museums
Independent museums are advised to contact AIM to make them aware of any specific issues.– info@aim-museums.co.uk
AIM: Coronavirus Support Resources
Check out AIM’s Coronavirus Support Resources for a summary of government support schemes that are available to independent museums.
- Coronavirus Job retention scheme
- Business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses (includes museums)
- Cash grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses
- Cashflow support through the tax system – including deferred VAT payments
- Business Interruption Loan Scheme
- Self-employed support measures
AIM’s HR consultants, TheHRDept, have provided advice and resources to help museum managers navigate the Coronavirus crisis.
- a template letter for staff furlough agreements
- guidance for individuals including: Personal Finances Information for Employees, Welfare Benefits, Mortgage Payments, Rent Payments, Water Bills, Phone Bills, Broadband Bills, Gas and Electricity, and Memberships.
Charity Finance Group (CFG) have put together a practical guide for charity finance professionals covering business continuity planning, cashflow management and insurance.
AIM’s Business Resilience Checklist helps independent museums consider their current situation and plan for challenging times.
Power Hour: Arts Fundrasing and Philanthropy
Latest news from Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy
Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy is offering a FREE hour of consultancy support every day on a first come first served basis to arts organisations that may need help in the coming weeks. This power hour can be focused on a range of areas including income generation, fundraising strategy, or donor cultivation.