Administrators from the Stoke on Trent office of business recovery specialists Begbies Traynor say they are confident for the future of Barlaston's world-renowned Wedgwood Museum, which has gone into administration.

The museum will remain open to the public and no redundancies are planned among the five full-time and six part-time staff.

The Wedgwood Museum Trust Ltd was placed into administration as a necessary step to enable the Wedgwood Group Pension Plan to seek the support of the Pension Protection Fund, the body established to provide a guaranteed minimum level of pension payments to members of eligible pension funds.

Five of the Wedgwood Group Pension Plan's 7,000-member scheme were employees of the Museum Trust when the Wedgwood companies became insolvent last year, leaving a large deficit in the pension plan. As a result, the Museum Trust is now deemed to be liable for the shortfall.

Bob Young and Steve Currie from Begbies Traynor were appointed joint administrators on Friday 23rd April.

Mr Young said: "We are confident that we can find a way to keep the museum open and no redundancies are planned.

"It will inevitably take some time to assess the best way forward in this complex situation, but we are aiming to find a solution in conjunction with the trustees and the Heritage Lottery Fund that will enable the museum to continue trading and to maintain its marvellous collections."

The Trust's Chairman, George Stonier, said: "The museum's trustees and their advisors are now working hard to find a solution to this extremely unfortunate situation. The trustees are extremely grateful for the continued support of the Museum's staff and its many friends, and remain optimistic that the collections will continue to be available to the public."