HC Deb 03 February 1997 vol 289 cc657-8
1. Mr. Mans

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list those items of historical importance which have received national lottery funding in order to keep them within the United Kingdom. [12216]

The Minister of State, Department of National Heritage (Mr. Iain Sproat)

The heritage lottery fund has made 33 grants for nearly £27 million for the acquisition of items of historical importance which might otherwise have been exported overseas. I have arranged for a full list to be placed in the Libraries.

Mr. Mans

I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Will he explain how the new National Heritage Bill will contribute towards keeping ever greater numbers of items in this country? Will he explain also how the Bill will allow lottery funds to be used for items that at present do not come within their remit?

Mr. Sproat

My hon. Friend is right to draw the attention of the House to the improvements that the National Heritage Bill will make. It will mean that lottery funds will be able to be used for the acquisition of individual items, as they are now, and it will mean that education, information technology access and other matters beyond preservation and maintenance will be able to be dealt with by the national heritage memorial fund.

Mr. Skinner

That was an interesting reply. As items of historical importance could be worth a bob or two, will this lousy Government, in their dying days, give a categorical assurance that, having bought such items with the proceeds of the lottery, they will not sell them off?

Mr. Sproat

There are two simple answers. First, it is a matter for the national heritage memorial fund, which makes decisions about how moneys will be disbursed. Secondly, there will be opportunities for clawback in the contract that is agreed between the memorial fund and a commercial organisation or a private person when lottery funds are allocated.