London
The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) may take over the running of the Gilbert Collection, which is displayed in Somerset House. Donated by Arthur Gilbert (1913-2001), the collection, now worth over £100 million, comprises gold, silver and micromosaics. It was opened to the public in 2000, thanks to a £18.5 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Since then, visitor numbers have fallen, and are expected to be just under 40,000 this year. The idea is that the V&A might be able to run the Gilbert Collection at a lower cost than its present separate organisation. The proposal was recently put to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and will then be reconsidered by the V&A and Gilbert trustees.