HC Deb 25 March 1958 vol 585 c217
33. Mr. Lipton

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he has reduced the Treasury grant to the British Museum, the National Gallery and the Tate Gallery.

Mr. Amory

I assume the hon. Member is referring to annual purchase grants. If he will look at the Estimates he will find that there has been no such reduction.

Mr. Lipton

That will take some time. Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that he has cut the grant to the British Museum by £65,000, that to the National Gallery by £12,000, and that to the Tate Gallery by £2,500? Are we so hard up that we must impose these miserly cheese-paring cuts on great national cultural institutions? The Government are behaving like a lot of barbarians and ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Mr. Amory

The hon. Member has made the mistake of not differentiating between annual grants and grants for specific purposes.