HC Deb 04 July 1950 vol 477 c243
44. Mr. Donner

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the continuing dispersal and sale of private art collections, resulting from the weight of taxation on great houses, he will review the administration of the export regulations and, in particular, take measures to ensure that the nation does not refuse to buy an object of art of national importance for which an export licence has been refused on account of that importance.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Sir Stafford Cripps)

I agree that the export control over works of art and similar objects should be reviewed, and I am taking steps to that end. The point made in the second part of the Question is only one of a number of factors to be taken into account in such a review.