ABSTRACT
Museums in Britain can be divided into two sectors, the public and the independent. Public sector museums are funded by either rates or taxes. The national museums are financed directly from central government funds and, since the National Heritage Act, 1983, are all under the supervision of boards of trustees. Local authorities have no mandatory duty to organize and administer museum services. There are merely permissive concurrent powers under the Libraries and Museums Act, 1964, as amended, for those which wish to run museums. The independent sector comprises a varied and fast-growing group of museums, many of which are both registered charities and limited liability companies. They raise funds from admission charges but also rely on grant-aid or annual payments from one or more public sources. 1
