Important Campaign Update - Art Fund Appeal Appeal Launched

Dear supporter,

The road to saving the Wedgwood Collection has been a long one, as you may be aware over the last 3 years we have been trying to prevent the forced sale and dispersion of the Wedgwood Collection  - we all agree that to do this would be a travesty. The Collection contains 80,000 works of art, ceramics, manuscripts, and letters, pattern books and photographs covering the 250 year history of Wedgwood; it is a unique archive of British politics, society, science and art. The archive represents priceless evidence of one company's contribution to a world of fast paced commercial innovation, scientific discovery, intellectual enlightenment and turbulent social history.

"The Wedgwood Museum’s Collection is a window into the Wedgwood family’s business and private life set within the context of the Industrial Revolution. It is, quite simply, one of the most extraordinary and rare Collections of its type in the UK"

Carole Souter, Chief Executive of the Heritage Lottery Fund 

The Collection must be saved and must remain in North Staffordshire.

We are delighted to say that good news is here, and we finally have a chance to save the Collection – forever. A steering group, led by the Art Fund with members including the Administrator, Tristram Hunt MP,  Rt. Hon. Ed Vaizey, MP Minister for Culture, Alison Wedgwood, Gaye Blake Roberts, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Arts Council have been working behind the scenes for a number of years, and in recent months, after exploring all options the Art Fund have agreed to raise the funds needed to buy the Collection – thereby safeguarding it in perpetuity. The Art Fund is leading the campaign and will buy the Collection and this will then be gifted to the V&A museum. The V&A has the curatorial, legal and business expertise and a remit to the protect the national collection of art and design and so it makes sense for them to own the collection – BUT always with the intention that it remains on display in Staffordshire at the existing Barlaston site. This solution safeguards the Collection in perpetuity and keeps it on display in the local area where it was created and evolved over 250 years.

We need £15.75m to do so, and have already raised over £13m – a major achievement.

However, today marks the beginning of the public appeal to raise the remaining £2.74m needed by 30 November in order to safeguard it.

We therefore are asking any keen supporters to contribute something to ensure we can end the uncertainty and ensure the Collection is saved forever. The good news is any donation by members of the public will be matched by a private trust and so we are optimistic that we can raise the £2.74 million by the deadline.

The Wedgwood family would like to offer their heart felt gratitude for your expressions of support, it has been a tumultuous few years and we feel that finally there is light at the end of the tunnel.  

We have ceded the Save Wedgwood web-site to the Art Fund to run the campaign – therefore if you would like to stay up to date about the campaign, please e-mail members@artfund.org and the Art Fund will add you to their new mailing list.

Please support this incredibly important campaign by donating – either by phone, text, online or by post – and by spreading the word.

The new www.savewedgwood.org website is now the official fundraising platform – please consider going on line today and make a donation, call 0844 415 4100 or Text WEDGWOOD to 70800 and donate £10

Thank you for all your interest and support over the years. We do believe that, together, we can save this remarkable Collection – once and for all.

Very best wishes

Alison and Tom Wedgwood

5th March - Minister responds to Oral Question from Dr Tristram Hunt

House of Commons: Monday 5 March 2012
Hansard record.


T3. [97715] Tristram Hunt (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab): As you know, Mr Speaker, the Wedgwood museum in Stoke-on-Trent is one of the greatest museums in the world and is facing the liquidation of its collection due to faulty pension legislation. The problem lies with the 2008 occupational pension schemes regulation and the last man standing principle, which leaves a solvent employer liable for the whole of the deficit in a multi-employer scheme. That was never meant to apply to charitable collections. Will the Minister review that legislation before we sacrifice more of our national heritage to the lawyers?

The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Steve Webb): When any charity or other organisation joins a last man standing pension scheme, it is important that it take proper advice about the liabilities it is taking on. Obviously, that is a general observation. On this specific case, the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, the hon. Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey), has spoken to the chairman of the Pension Protection Fund about the Wedgwood museum, has explained the importance of the collection for the nation and has asked her whether she can find a way of preventing the collection from being broken up. That is something we all want to see.

Lord Flight's Oral Question - Hansard Record

The Hansard record for the exchanges that followed Lord flight of Worcester's Oral Question - 14th February 2012:

Wedgwood Museum

Question

2.51 pm

Asked By Lord Flight

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to legislate, in the light of the Wedgwood Museum case, to prevent the "last man standing" rule applying to the assets of charitable museums and other charities.

Baroness Rawlings: My Lords, the Government have reviewed this case carefully and believe that it would be inappropriate not to apply this rule to charities. Charities should have the freedom to choose pension schemes that suit their needs. These arrangements can be a useful way of managing liabilities and we would not want to restrict this option for charities. We welcome this opportunity to emphasise that charities should seek appropriate advice before making pension arrangements.

Lord Flight: My Lords, when the Wedgwood collection has been shortlisted as one of the top 20 cultural assets in the UK, I suggest that it is inconceivable that it should be left to be sold off. What proposals do the Government have for rescuing the collection? Secondly, with regard to charities, the DWP had a consultation last year that recognised the problems with both Section 25 and the "last man standing" rule. A further consultation was promised for this year. When will it start?

Baroness Rawlings: My Lords, I agree with my noble friend Lord Flight that one hopes that the Wedgwood collection would not be sold off. I assure him that the Government have had several meetings with the honourable Member for Stoke, Mr Tristram Hunt, and several other people concerned to find the most effective way to save this very valuable collection, which has been nominated by UNESCO as one of the 20 most valuable sites in the UK. Regarding the final meeting, meetings are taking place at the moment, and I will update your Lordships' House as they go on.

Lord Howarth of Newport: My Lords, should we not be cautious about reaching conclusions until we have seen the full written judgment? We will then know whether the predicament of the Wedgwood Museum has arisen because pensions legislation was poorly drafted and scrutinised or, perhaps, because the trustees of the museum were poorly advised when they could have placed the collection securely in trust and beyond the reach of the Pension Protection Fund. Meanwhile, I express unreserved appreciation for the way in which the Minister, Ed Vaizey, has kept watch over the whole situation in regard to the Wedgwood Museum, and helped to bring people together so that they can develop plans for the museum's archive and collection to be properly preserved for the benefit of the nation. Finally, will the noble Baroness, who is playing such a valuable role in this, ensure that the Minton Archive is not overlooked?

Baroness Rawlings: My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Howarth, has touched on very important points. One is right to be cautious until we get the written judgment, which should come through soon. A difficult situation applied when the trustees were advised. I totally agree with the noble Lord that the Minister, Ed Vaizey, has held several meetings on this matter and has become very involved. The Government have good will in all this and will do all that they possibly can. The Minton archive is very important and is arguably the greatest industrial archive of its kind. I can assure the noble Lord that it has certainly not been forgotten. It is now the property of WWRD UK, the new owners of the Wedgwood Group. The Minister for Culture has spoken to them about this matter. The archive is still safely in storage in Bonhams, which is awaiting a resolution on the future of the Wedgwood collection and the museum before taking any decision about its future.

The Earl of Clancarty: My Lords, does not the Minister agree that it is time that the Government took more control of the Wedgwood situation and, indeed, bought the collection? Appeal is in this sense irrelevant. It could be called the National Wedgwood Museum. As such, it would be a huge asset to Britain and a tremendous boost to Stoke-on-Trent. Surely for £14 million or thereabouts, this ought to be a no-brainer.

Baroness Rawlings: As the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, mentioned, this museum is terribly important for the Stoke area and the Potteries. As regards the valuation that he mentioned, DCMS is working on that with the protection fund but we still do not know what it will be. We hope that there will be a fundraising campaign and the collection will be saved sooner rather than later.

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: My Lords, is the noble Baroness aware that besides the unique ceramics collections there is also a data archive dating back 250 years of the Wedgwood and Darwin letters, which have great scientific significance? Does she not agree that it is something of a quirk that a quirk of law relating to the financial sector should require us to sacrifice this icon of our industrial heritage?

Baroness Rawlings: My noble friend makes a very good point. The archives and the whole collection constitute a most remarkable collection that has been donated by the family over many years. It would be a disaster should it be sold. The protection fund is a very complicated fund which the Government are looking at in great detail. I will not go into all the details of the pension scheme now but I will write to her with those details.

Lord Cormack: My Lords-

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: My Lords, may I pursue the whole issue of the "last man standing" legislation with the noble Baroness? I understand that, following the DWP's review of this policy, it was agreed that there would be a further review. However, I gathered from what the noble Baroness was saying just now that this is not the case. Will she confirm whether this matter is under review, because it seems to noble Lords around the House that it is being used and implemented in a way that was never foreseen, is causing charities-not just the Wedgwood Museum but other charities-considerable concern and disquiet, and has consequences for unemployment in the area as well? Therefore, will the noble Baroness clarify the status of the "last man standing" legislation?

Baroness Rawlings: With pleasure, my Lords. We understand that the Wedgwood pension scheme operated on the basis that if any participating employers became insolvent or otherwise stopped sponsoring the scheme, responsibility for the pension scheme fell to the remaining employers. This is what is meant by the "last man standing" rule. As a result, the company of the Wedgwood pension scheme-the museum-became liable for its pensions shortfall. We are awaiting the judgment from the Attorney-General. Then it will be decided where we go to from there.

Campaign Update

Since the initial Court decision was announced just before Christmas there has been a huge amount of positive and constructive coverage and media interest in the plight of the Museum. Supporters have continued to lobby their MPs and our Supporters in Parliament have sponsored an Early Day Motion  - please ask your MP to sign it - and Lord Flight of Worcester has put down an Oral Question for the Minister in the House of Lords.

There has been wide coverage of John Caudwell’s incredibly generous offer to “Save the Collection” – he is a native of the Potteries and recognises the importance of the collection for Staffordshire and beyond. Any future offer would be conditional, of course and he has stated that he regards himself as a “lender of last resort” – a safety-net should all other efforts fail.

As reported in The Daily Telegraph on 11^th January,  the campaign still awaits the decision of the Attorney-General as to whether he will seek leave to appeal – until this is determined, any necessary fundraising appeal cannot be launched. It remains the objective of the campaign to seek a legal or political solution that will safeguard the collection within an inalienable trust for the nation.

Thank you for your ongoing support – please continue to lobby your MP and Ministers.

Media Coverage round up:

· "Wedgwood Family fight for their Family History" Daily Telegraph, (11th January 2012)

· Letter from Dr Alan Wedgwood, Dr Janet Wedgwood and family, Daily Telegraph, (10th January 2012)

· Victoria Lambert article "John Caudwell: 'I can't stand by and see our Wedgwood heritage shattered'"in The Daily Telegraph (24th December 2011)

· Alison Wedgwood's letter to The Staffordshire Sentinel "Wedgwood Family React to news about Museum Collection" (23rd December 2011)

· BBC Midlands Today segment on the Court Case - watch the clip on our YouTube Channel. (19th December 2011).

In Parliament: Wedgwood Museum Early Day Motion

Hon. Dr Tristram Hunt MP is the Primary Sponsor of an Early Day Motion in support of the Wedgwood Museum. Early Day Motions (EDMs) are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons. Whilst few are actually debated EDMs allow MPs to draw attention to an event or cause. MPs register their support by signing individual motions.

Please ask you MP to support Early day motion 2585 "Wedgwood Museum Future" and click through to see who is already supporting it.

Please use this (MS Outlook) e-mail template if you wish or download example e-mail text and background narrative.

The Decision - Collection can be dispersed and sold....

The Campaign to Save the Wedgwood Museum received the shocking news that the UNESCO recognised archive of international importance is not held in trust and can be dispersed and sold to meet wholly disproportionate £135m Pension Fund liabilities.

Read the Press release from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) lawyers here. Stoke-upon-Trent MP Hon. Dr Tristram Hunt MP is meeting with Government Ministers on December 20th to discuss the plight of the Museum.

The Battle continues - continued political lobbying is essential: write to your MP to drive home how important this unique collection is to you.

Campaign leader Alison Wedgwood: "We will begin a fund raising campaign in the new year, asking the government for urgent support, and seeking support from the Art Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund and as many generous philanthropists as we can cajole. This collection is not leaving Staffordshire without a fight!"


Write to you MP, Join our Supporters roll to declare your support and to be kept up to date with the Campaign: help to Save Wedgwood for the Nation.

Thank you for your support.

 

Decision expected - 19th December

The High Court have informed the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) that the judgement will be revealed on Monday 19th December. 


Check the news Blog and follow us on Twitter to hear the news.

BBC Midlands Today 13/9

http://www.youtube.com/user/savewedgwood

Dr Tristram Hunt MP: A hammer blow for the peerless Wedgwood Potteries

Following Saturday's Daily Telegraph Feature in their Weekend supplement, Dr Tristram Hunt MP has written a comment piece in Monday's edition:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/8277846/A-hammer-blow-for-the-peerless-Wedgwood-Potteries.html#disqus_thread

Daily Telegraph - "Wedgwood Collection campaign: Don’t smash this national treasure"

Excellent article featuring campaign leaders Tom and Alison Wedgwood in the Daily Telegraph on January 20th:

"The Wedgwood Collection, a unique record of our socal history built up over two and a half centuries, is under threat reports Victoria Lambert"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/8271194/Wedgwood-Collection-campaign-Dont-smash-this-national-treasure.html

"Wedgwood Museum At risk" Tristram Hunt | The Spectator

Access Dr Hunt's recent article on the plight of the Museum here:

Wedgwood Museum At risk Tristram Hunt | The Spectator

Westminster Hall Debate

The Hansard record of today's excellent debate on the Wedgwood Museum in Westminster Hall led by Stoke MP Dr Tristram Hunt can be accessed here.

BBC Midlands - 6:30 19/10/10

Tomorrow (October 19th) Alison Wedgwood and Dr Tristram Hunt MP will hopefully be featured on BBC Midlands Today news which runs from 6:30pm, following the debate in Westminster Hall.  We will endeavour to upload a clip soon afterwards!

Westminster Hall Debate - 19th October

Dr Tristram Hunt MP will be leading a Westminster Hall Debate on the "Future of the Wedgwood Museum" from 1:30 pm on Tuesday 19th October 2010.

>>> Westminster Hall