Museums, Libraries and Archives Council

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The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) is a government-funded body (a national development agency) in England with a remit in the area of museums, libraries and archives. It advises the UK government on policy and priorities for these areas in England, and received funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The MLA was established in April 2000 when it replaced the Museums and Galleries Commission (MGC) and the Library and Information Commission (LIC).

The postal address for MLA is Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), Victoria House, Southampton Row, London, WC1B 4EA, UK. It moved to this address from 16 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AA, UK in January 2006.

1,800 museums are registered with the MLA and have agreed to follow its regulations. A significant exception is the Tate Gallery. It was revealed in 2006 that the Tate was the only nationally-funded museum not to be accredited to the MLA, as it did not wish to abide by guidelines that deaccessioned work should first be offered to other museums. The MLA threatened to bar the Tate from acquiring works under the Acceptance in Lieu (AIL) scheme, whereby works are given to the nation to settle inheritance tax.^[1]