Introduction and Legal Position

Tate operates under the Museums and Galleries Act 1992, which repealed the 1954 Act by giving Tate - like other national museums and galleries- corporate status and vesting all its property, rights and liability in its governing body - the Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery. The 1992 Act provided Tate with the freedom to acquire or dispose of land or property and enter into contracts and other agreements regarding the occupation and management of its galleries.

Importantly, the Act sets Tate's statutory aims and objectives which are to:

• care for, preserve and add to the works of art and the documents in their collections;
• secure that the works of art are exhibited to the public;
• secure that the works of art and the documents are available to persons seeking to inspect them in connection with study or research; and
• generally promote the public's enjoyment and understanding of British art, and of Twentieth Century and contemporary art, both by means of the Board's collections and by such other means as they consider appropriate;

Tate is designated as an exempt charity under Schedule 2 of the Charities Act 1993. Its charitable status enables the Gallery to raise funds from sponsorship, donations, legacies and ancillary charges for the services it provides in addition to government funding. As an exempt charity Tate is directly accountable to government and therefore does not need to register with the Charity Commission of England and Wales. Although Tate Trustees are not subject to the direct control of the Charity Commission, they still have the broad responsibilities of charity trustees.

As the legal entity responsible for running Tate, the Board of Trustees can potentially incur both civil liability (e.g. for breach of contract or negligence) and criminal liability (e.g. under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974).

• Management statement/financial memo