Its functions spanned the UK and it advised the government on policy and priorities for these areas in England, receiving funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The last chairman was Sir Andrew Motion (lately Poet Laureate) and the last chief executive officer (CEO) was Roy Clare CBE.
On 26 July 2010 it was announced that the MLA would be abolished under new proposals put forward by the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt, to reduce the number of public bodies funded by the government.
[3] It was set up following the recommendations of the Final Report of the Royal Commission on National Museums and Galleries, produced in 1929 and 1930.
In April 2000, the MGC and the Library and Information Commission were combined into Re:source which was later renamed the MLA Council.