HC Deb 07 March 1983 vol 38 c560
27. Mr. Murphy

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will now establish a national scheme for the borrowing of works of art from galleries.

Mr. Channon

The national galleries already have extensive arrangements for supplying other public institutions with individual loans and exhibitions. So do many local and independent galleries, the area museum councils and the Arts Council. I am always ready to encourage suitable further developments, including the possibility of loans to a wider circle of borrowers, but I doubt whether a centrally administered national scheme is necessary for this purpose.

Mr. Murphy

I thank my right hon. Friend for that comprehensive answer. Does he agree that the example of Manchester, in loaning unhung pictures, gives a greater opportunity both of viewing those pictures and for greater finance to be gleaned?

Mr. Channon

I entirely agree with what my hon. Friend has said. The Manchester scheme has been imaginative and successful. I shall do what I can to encourage its propagation, and I shall discuss the matter with the Museums and Galleries Commission.