HC Deb 09 November 1992 vol 213 cc614-5
9. Mr. Nigel Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities that host international festivals have the financial burden of doing so taken into account by the Government.

Mr. Key

It is for individual local authorities to determine the extent of their financial support for arts organisations and events, in the light of local circumstances and competing priorities. All major international arts festivals receive substantial financial support from central Government through the Arts Council and regional arts boards.

Mr. Jones

I thank the Minister for his reply. Does he accept, however, that many local authorities' spending is severely strapped at present? With the recession taking its toll on the box offices, many art providers are in serious financial difficulty, including the Everyman theatre in my constituency of Cheltenham. How does the Minister intend to protect the arts from the double whammy of local authority capping and the recession?

Mr. Key

I shall continue to encourage the large number of festivals which take place in this country. There are currently more than 500, excluding one-day local and community festivals. One answer to the problem is mixed funding. In that connection, I draw the hon. Gentleman's attention to the enormous success of business sponsorship for the arts, and the success of incentive schemes which have encouraged the funding which has allowed sponsorship levels to rise so dramatically in recent years.

Mr. Hawkins

As my hon. Friend will know, my constituency contains something that is by way of being a permanent international festival—the Blackpool pleasure beach, which is the biggest visitor attraction in Europe apart from the Vatican. May I ask my right hon. and hon. Friends to welcome the beach's enterprise in planning the biggest rollercoaster in the world? I have here a schematic representation, which shows that it is higher than Nelson's column.

Mr. Key

Of course I welcome initiative of that kind. It is the sort of imaginative scheme which will no doubt appeal to the Leader of the Opposition when he considers his European policy.

I should be delighted to welcome my hon. Friend and any of his hon. Friends from Blackpool. Blackpool is the biggest holiday resort in Europe, and the best of that resort provides an example for many others in this country.