SMALL museums in York and North Yorkshire could struggle to survive under controversial Government plans to alter a vital funding source.

Helen Toolan, curator of the Murton Park Museums, has warned that proposals to change Gift Aid could cripple small independent museums.

She wrote to MPs after Chancellor Gordon Brown announced he intended to stop charitable attractions claiming tax rebates on admission fees.

With Gift Aid, every £1 a UK taxpayer pays is worth an extra 28p to Murton Park Museums, which includes the Yorkshire Museum of Farming, Danelaw Dark Age Village, Brigantium Roman Fort, the Tudor Croft and Fairfax House.

Another York museum, Fairfax House, had 35,000 visitors last year, and curator Peter Brown said changing Gift Aid would mean the museum missing out on about £9,000.

He has written to the chancellor complaining about the damage his plans would cause.

The new scheme would depend on visitors donating an additional ten per cent on top of admission.

To persuade visitors to stump up this cash, they would be offered a year's free membership.

Mr Brown said: "This would really make a difference and mean we would struggle and smaller museums could have to close altogether.

"Gift Aid is a seriously useful source of income. What the Government is doing is totally unforgivable."

Ms Toolan said: "We had been considering starting with Gift Aid at our museum, but it looks like it wouldn't be worthwhile if they are planning these changes.

"Small museums already face stiff competition from the free national museums and those funded by the local authority, and taking away this vital source of funding would be cutting a life line for many."

In a letter to the Tory culture spokesman, Mark Francois, Ms Toolan said: "By continuing with Gift Aid in its new guise, visitors who participated in the scheme would then be allowed free entry to the museum for the coming year.

"This is an impossible situation. It would mean the loss of substantial income for the museum that it

currently has from its admissions.

"If Gift Aid were to change, it would mean two things: firstly, smaller museums would not be able to afford to participate in the scheme because of the increased cost to the visitor in admissions, and secondly, a loss of much-needed income that Gift Aid currently provides."

The letter was read out to the Commons during the Finance Bill debate, which involved a Conservative attempt to scupper the chancellor's bid to re-draw the rules on Gift Aid.

Mr Francois said changing the rules could potentially have "a big impact", particularly for small and independent museums.

Updated: 09:13 Thursday, June 16, 2005