§ 22. Mr. Freudasked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the arts if he will make a statement of Government policy towards the theatre.
§ Mr. WaldegraveMy noble Friend intends to continue the present policies of support for the theatre.
§ Mr. FreudI welcome the Minister to his new post, which must come as a shock to the Leader of the House. Will the Minister examine commercial and noncommercial theatre support in the west end and undertake to ensure that the commercial theatre has the opportunity to obtain venture capital, as was suggested by the hon. Gentleman's predecessor? I hope that that suggestion will be carried out by the Minister in another place.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe hon. Gentleman clearly refers to the contribution made to the Theatre Investment Fund Ltd. by my predecessor. It was made clear that that was a one-off refunding of that company. The most important contribution that the subsidised sector makes to the commercial sector is the launching of productions that are then transferred to the commercial stage. Both sides of the equation are important and I have no doubt that my noble Friend will bear both sides in mind.
§ Mr. Michael MarshallWill my hon. Friend take this opportunity to follow up the last piece of information provided by his predecessor and say whether he thinks that the commercial theatre in the west end is showing a continued, healthy return? Will the Government keep an open mind on further funding for theatre charitable funds, which bring a great deal of return by private investment to match Government funding?
§ Mr. WaldegraveI shall certainly draw my hon. Friend's last point to the attention of my noble Friend. When looking at the sad list of dark theatres, I was impressed and interested to note that four of the nine dark theatres had productions planned for the relatively near future. When compared with the past 10 or 20 years, that is not too bad a position.
§ Mr. Ioan EvansWill the Minister make representations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer about VAT on theatre tickets? Is he aware that if it were reduced to 8 per cent., as it was hitherto, or removed completely, it would be a tremendous help to local theatrical and operatic groups?
§ Mr. WaldegraveAs the hon. Gentleman knows, that is a matter for my right hon. Friend.
§ Mr. David CrouchCan my hon. Friend give an assurance that the Government will continue to support the Theatre's Trust, of which I am a trustee and which provides valuable protection for the theatre against demolition or change of use?
§ Mr. WaldegraveI have no knowledge of any intended change of policy in this matter. I shall draw the attention of my noble Friend to the importance of the point my hon. Friend makes.