The government confirmed on 29 September 2026 that universal free admission to England's national museums will continue, according to a Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport news story. Free entry was introduced in 2001.

Earlier in 2026 the government had committed to working with museum and tourism sectors and local leaders to explore whether charging overseas visitors could help museums' finances, as part of its response to Baroness Hodge's review of Arts Council England, published in December 2025. It said charging overseas visitors could deter domestic visitors and that costs and benefits would not be felt equally across the sector, so it will not introduce such charges.

The government said national museums add more than £1 billion a year to the economy, and that seven of the UK's ten most visited museums are national museums. In 2025, it said, 7.1 million people visited the Natural History Museum and 6.4 million the British Museum. The £1.5 billion Arts Everywhere Fund provides £760 million for museums; £600 million of infrastructure funding supports national museums and DCMS-sponsored cultural organisations, and a further £160 million is being invested in local and regional museums. The government also said it would work with Arts Council and the sector on a long-term strategic plan for museums, with further details to be released in due course.