Arts Funding (Hansard, 21 November 1983)

§ 29. Mr. Proctor
asked the Under-Secretary of State answering in respect of the Arts, whether Her Majesty's Government will make it their policy to change the balance of funding for the arts from public to private sources.

§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Environment (Mr. William Waldegrave)
No, Sir. The Government expect to maintain the real level of public spending on the arts and we expect that private funding will provide an increasingly important supplement.

§ Mr. Proctor
Does my hon. Friend agree that there is great scope for entrepreneurial initiative in the arts, especially as it will help save the taxpayer expense in certain circumstances?

§ Mr. Waldegrave
I agree that there is an extremely important role for private sponsorship and entrepreneur-ship in the arts. That role has been growing recently.

§ Mr. Meadowcroft
How does the Minister's answer affect the problem that will occur when, as is proposed, the metropolitan counties and the GLC are abolished, as they contribute more than £11 million in arts funding?

§ Mr. Waldegrave
The hon. Gentleman knows that my noble Friend has published a list of some large organisations that will get additional central funding. Moreover, there will be an opportunity and a need for district and borough councils to do their bit to help organisations in the future.

§ Mr. Crouch
Although I welcome the fact that my hon. Friend hears no Philistine voice saying that the Government should reduce support for the arts, would it not be valuable if the Government could give some financial encouragement to private art patrons so that the arts can receive more than the Government are able to afford?

§ Mr. Waldegrave
That is one of the Select Committee's recommendations, to which the Government will reply in due course. My noble Friend has been able to secure a modest but valuable increase in real terms in public arts spending for next year. I am sure that that will be widely welcomed.

§ Mr. Tony Banks
Has the Minister's noble Friend had any discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer with a view to introducing tax concessions for private industry and commerce that funds the arts?

§ Mr. Waldegrave
There have been discussions within and between Departments on the Select Committee's recommendations, but we have not yet produced our final response to it.

Mr. Cormick
When can we expect that response to the Select Committee's report? Will the Minister bear in mind that the Select Committee made several recommendations and that it underlined two facts? First, the arts have always been subsidised, whether by a German prince or, as in Britain now, by the state. Secondly, the arts are responsible for bringing vast sums of money to Britain via tourism.

§ Mr. Waldegrave
The Government will respond to the Select Committee's report in a small number of months. Arts charities already benefit from relatively generous arrangements. However, I do not wish in any way to pre-empt my noble Friend's answer to the Select Committee.

§ Mr. Radice
With regard to the abolition of the metropolitan counties, is the Minister really convinced that the £11 million can be made up by private or district funding?

§ Mr. Waldegrave
We are consulting on these matters. Taking into account the money that will be moved from the metropolitan counties to the districts and boroughs in grant-related expenditure assessments, there is no reason why arts organisations that are well based in their communities should not win support.