More than £15m worth of historic paintings, furniture and archives have been acquired through a government scheme administered by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).

The Acceptance in Lieu initiative has been designed to enable items adjudged to be of national historical or artistic importance to be brought into public ownership as an alternative to inheritance tax. This year, works by JMW Turner and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, as well as several historical documents, have been among the 32 items acquired under the scheme, valued at a total of £15.2m.

MLA chair, Andrew Motion, said: "The Acceptance in Lieu scheme is a vivid and important means of enhancing collections across the UK. The benefits are substantial in terms of connoisseurship, scholarship and access. Culture minister, Barbara Follett, added: "Whether it be furniture, a painting or a historical document, these aspects of our heritage have been preserved for the nation and will give many visitors pleasure and insight into their history, which would otherwise have been lost."