HC Deb 09 November 1964 vol 701 cc649-50
12. Mr. Ramsden

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what administrative arrangements he is making in his Department in order to discharge his responsibilities towards culture and the arts.

26. Mr. Driber

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what administrative arrangements he is making in his Department in order to enable the arts and culture to be adequately supported without unduly detailed official supervision.

Miss Lee

My right hon. Friend's responsibilities remain unaltered, but I have been asked to survey Government activity in the field of the arts and amenities, excluding sport. The first essential is to review what is now being done. For this purpose I am being provided with the additional help required both from my Department and other Ministries.

Mr. Ramsden

I am obliged to the hon. Lady. Does this mean that she and her Department will be discharging for the future the responsibilities in relation to the arts and the learned societies and so forth which hitherto have been discharged by the Treasury?

Miss Lee

Until the review has been completed, the question of altering existing administrative arrangements and responsibilities does not arise. The first essential is to complete this review, which is something not hitherto done.

Sir H. Kerr

Can the hon. Lady say whether these changes were prompted by the pamphlet produced by some Conservative back benchers and called "Government and the Arts"?

Miss Lee

I wish I could say "Yes", but that is not the case. If the hon. Member will refer to election statements made by the Government, he will find that it was made perfectly clear that we wanted a more coherent, imaginative, and generous attitude to the arts in Great Britain. The review is the first step towards that end.

Mr. Ridley

Is the hon. Lady aware that what she has so far said was exactly prescribed in that pamphlet? Will she publish a White Paper setting out what her duties are, since, in default of such information, we can only assume that she is copying our ideas?

Miss Lee

I shall be delighted if there is a change of heart among hon. Members opposite or if it appears that there were hon. Members in the last Parliament who would have liked to take a more generous attitude towards the arts but were prohibited from so doing by their party Whips. I assure them that they will have every opportunity in the present Parliament; and I assure them also that, if they will await the outcome of the review, which will be carried out in the shortest possible time, they will be left in no doubt about my responsibilities or the desire of the Government for more effective action and more coherence.

Mr. Driberg

If this is a proper matter for rival party claims, will my hon. Friend consider referring hon. Members opposite to the very substantial Labour Party pamphlet, "Leisure for Living", which came out in 1959?

Miss Lee

I assume that no hon. Member opposite was so irresponsible as to cast his vote at the last General Election without making quite sure that he had read the statements of all the various parties.