Public Task (March 2020)
The Victoria and Albert Museum
This statement sets out the functions carried out by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) that are within the museum’s Public Task. The Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 require the V&A to make a public statement of the scope of its Public Task. The V&A also needs to define its public task in order to be clear when it is processing personal data to perform a ‘task in the public interest’ under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Our mission is to be recognised as the world's leading museum of art, design and performance, and to enrich people's lives by promoting research, knowledge and enjoyment of the designed world to the widest possible audience.
The V&A’s ‘public task’ comprises all the statutory functions, duties and responsibilities set out in The National Heritage Act 1983 and related legislation. The Act states that the Board of Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum Trustees shall:
- Care for, preserve and add to the objects in their collections
- Secure that the objects are exhibited to the public
- Secure that the objects are available to persons seeking to inspect them in connection with study or research, and generally promote the public’s enjoyment and understanding of art, craft and design both by means of the Board’s collections and by such other means as they consider appropriate
The museum’s public task also includes objectives set by its sponsoring government department, the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in its Management Agreement.
The V&A’s public task is also reflected in the museum’s strategic plan:
- Create a world class visitor and learning experience across all V&A sites and collections
- Focus and deepen the relevance of our collections and ideas across the UK
- Expand the V&A’s international reach as a global catalyst for the UK creative industries
- Embed digital capacity and culture at the V&A and deliver an outstanding digital experience
This statement of Public Task is reviewed regularly. If you have any queries on this public task statement, please email: hello@vam.ac.uk
Re-use of Public Sector Information
If you would like to use Public Sector Information held by the Victoria and Albert Museum for any reason, for further information please contact our Content Licensing team V&A Images.
There may be costs involved to use content, which will depend on how the content will be used. V&A Images can advise further about this on request. The V&A reserves the right to refuse re-use of Public Sector Information in certain circumstances where it considers that re-use to be inappropriate, including the following:
- The use does not comply with museum codes of practice or Acts of Parliament
- The use could impact on the safety and security of the collection, staffing or building
- The use directly conflicts with the terms of an existing licence
- The use is a direct copy of another product already under licence
- The use would bring the V&A or the creator of the work into disrepute
This document is available as a PDF: