HC Deb 15 March 1982 vol 20 cc17-8
22. Mr. Dormand

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proposals he has to make appointments to the Arts Council from persons living in the Northern region.

Mr. Channon

I am always ready to consider the appointment of persons with suitable qualifications and experience, wherever they live. But members are not appointed in a representative capacity or by virtue of their residence in a particular region.

Mr. Dormand

I accept that there is a case for non-regional appointments to the Arts Council, but is there not equally a case for regional appointees? Would not a mixture be advantageous to the arts and the Arts Council generally? Is the Minister aware of the strong feeling in the North of England that we are as neglected in the arts by this Government as we are in industry? Will the Minister reconsider appointing people from the North, particularly since no one from the Northern region has ever sat on the Arts Council?

Mr. Channon

On a rough calculation, out of the 18 members of the Arts Council, plus the chairman, no fewer than eight live outside London. Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Dorset, Scotland and Wales have representatives. The council contains many members from outside London. I cannot guarantee to appoint a person from a specific area. I am astonished that the hon. Gentleman should say that the North has been neglected. The Northern Arts Association receives more money than any other regional arts association in England.

Sir William Elliott

Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is harmful to the region, with its various problems, to suggest that it is neglected in terms of the arts? Is my right hon. Friend aware that currently the Royal Shakespeare Company is appearing at our theatre in Newcastle—the capital of the North—and that the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, appearing at the city hall, is playing to a highly appreciative audience? Is he aware that the Laing art gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne has a national and international reputation?

Mr. Channon

That shows that the North does well in the arts. The hon. Member for Easington (Mr. Dormand) grossly exaggerates his case.

Mr. Christopher Price

Is the Minister aware that Dr. Richard Hoggart, who was born and brought up in Leeds—which is in the North of England—has just been sacked?

Mr. Channon

I do not think that Leeds is covered by the term "Northern region". If we are to bandy names, I must tell the House that the secretary general of the Arts Council comes from Yorkshire and the deputy secretary general from Durham.