HC Deb 09 March 1987 vol 112 cc14-5
35. Mr. Hanley

asked the Minster for the Arts if he has any plans to change current arrangements for acceptancein-lieu of works of art.

Mr. Luce

I continue to keep the arrangements under review in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment.

Mr. Hanley

Will my right hon. Friend say how much was spent last year securing pre-eminent works of art for the nation and whether he believes that the £2 million reserve in his Department and the £10 million reserve at the Treasury are adequate for this purpose and also whether co-operation between his Department and the Treasury is adequate?

Mr. Luce

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing attention to the important new arrangements for acceptance in lieu, which means that we can now draw on a contingency reserve to the tune of an extra £10 million in addition to the £2 million that my Department gives. Overall, in this present financial year, just over £3 million has been drawn upon. There have been only seven acceptances in lieu this year and the opportunities for more are very strong. The more people who take this up, the better.

Mr. Robert Sheldon

Will the Minister bear in mind that, with the recent escalation in prices at auctions, what might have been adequate a year ago is no longer adequate? Does he accept that these sums need to be revised to take account of changing circumstances.

Mr. Luce

I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that the rates of inflation of some objects of art are very high, and that is a factor to be taken into account. As I have already said, the contingency reserve has not been fully drawn upon for this year and opportunities to draw upon it are still available. He will be aware of other arrangements, including the private treaty sale and the douceur, all of which are mechanisms for making it cheaper to purchase important objects of art and to save tax for the seller.

Mr. Alan Howarth

I acknowledge the substantial contribution that the Government have already made to enable the National Trust to acquire Kedleston hall., but is my right hon. Friend aware that the trust is still about £1.5 million short of the funds it needs to enable it to preserve the contents? As the origin of the problem is very much bound up with capital transfer tax obligations, will he look urgently to see whether there may be further scope, perhaps by drawing on the contingency fund that he has mentioned, to help by way of the AIL arrangements, or, if that is not appropriate, by some other route?

Mr. Luce

Many of these matters are for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. My hon. Friend will recognise that the new arrangements for acceptance in lieu have been operating for only a short time and that the full contingency fund has not been adequately and fully drawn upon. The opportunity is still there, and I urge people to take full advantage of it.

Mr. Meadowcroft

We appear to be less and less able to compete with American galleries and foundations in our attempts to retain art treasures in Britain. Does the Minister agree that one way in which he could assist in the retention of such treasures would be for him to take a much more generous view of the valuation of such treasures which may be given in lieu of tax?

Mr. Luce

There are very clear mechanisms and we bring in expert advisers to assess values. I am satisfied that those arrangements are working well. As regards the selling of treasures abroad, the export review committee, which has been in place for over 30 years, does an extremely good job in recommending what should or should not have a stop put upon it. These procedures are working well.