Culture secretary Tessa Jowell has announced that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will transfer its responsibilities for the Museum of London to the Greater London Authority (GLA).

The GLA will now assume the government’s sponsorship role, which involves appointing half of the museum’s board of governors.

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said: “The Museum of London is an important asset to the heritage sector and a vital part of the city’s cultural offering. I am very pleased with this decision, which recognises the need for a strategic authority to have a say in how the museum is run. We will work closely with both the museum’s staff and the City of London to raise the profile of this great organisation and ensure its future success.”

Details of the transfer will be made known in the forthcoming Greater London Authority Bill.

In addition, the consultation considered whether responsibility for the Horniman Museum and Gardens and the Geffrye Museum in London should also be transferred to the GLA. However, all parties involved decided that both museums are best left in the public domain owing to their connections with education. Details: www.culture.gov.uk