HC Deb 06 December 1955 vol 547 cc193-4
53. Mr. N. Nicolson

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will increase the Treasury grant to the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem.

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Henry Brooke)

The grant to the British Schol of Archaeology in Jerusalem is made not by the Treasury but by the British Academy, whose grant for 1956–57 is at present under consideration.

Mr. Nicolson

Is it not true that my right hon. Friend has the final say in what the grants should be? Is it not regrettable that the British School, which has done such outstanding work on the Jericho excavations and the Dead Sea Scrolls, should be the only school in Jerusalem to be closed down for nine months of the year through shortage of funds?

Mr. Brooke

I will take account of what my hon. Friend has said. It is not I who have the last word; the House has the last word. The House is invited each year to vote a block grant to the British Academy, which then distributes the grant at its discretion.

Mr. Snow

Bearing in mind that these grants come from a single source, would it not be better, instead of a financial grant, to restore the Caryatid in the British Museum in the Erectheum on the Acropolis, thus restoring its original perfection?

Mr. Brooke

That goes some way beyond the scope of the Question.