§ 1. Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby)What steps he is taking to widen access to the arts in (a) North Yorkshire and (b) Scarborough and Whitby. [149384]
§ The Minister for the Arts (Mr. Alan Howarth)Yorkshire Arts is strongly committed to widening access to the arts. Its budget from the Arts Council of England increased by 9.1 per cent. in 1999–2000 and in 2000–01 by 26 per cent., to £9.25 million. Among the excellent projects that are promoting wider access is Create, an arts development consortium working in partnership with Yorkshire Arts to promote residencies and participatory events at the Scarborough festival and, indeed, all the year round. That also benefits Whitby and rural areas in North Yorkshire.
§ Mr. QuinnSuch initiatives are extremely welcome in what are perhaps some of the moss rural parts of the country. In the rural areas of North Yorkshire in particular, participation in the arts is difficult, whether in the performance arts or in other forms. I am especially pleased that many of the council estates in Scarborough and Whitby now have an opportunity to take part. This initiative from the Government is smashing and will make sure that we break down the barriers of exclusion in access to the arts. Will my right hon. Friend take an early opportunity to commend all the people at Yorkshire Arts for that important work?
§ Mr. HowarthI very much appreciate my hon. Friend"s comments. He is a great advocate of tourism and culture in his constituency and in Yorkshire. He and his constituents are fortunate of course to have Sir Alan Ayckbourn and the Stephen Joseph theatre in their midst. That theatre has been a priority for Yorkshire Arts.
Yorkshire Arts supports both the Crescent arts workshop—working to bring cultural opportunities to deprived estates in Scarborough—and the Whitby network, which provides a performance base in Whitby.
§ Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York)Will the Minister confirm that the restriction of school budgets in North Yorkshire poses tremendous difficulties for schools such as Thirsk school where, traditionally, pupils were bussed to venues in North Yorkshire and in Leeds so that they could experience arts to which their parents were unable to take them? Will the Minister speak to the Department for Education and Employment to ensure that the budgets are increased so that the trips continue to take place in future?
§ Mr. HowarthWe work closely with our colleagues in the DFEE. Education is of course a priority for my Department; a commitment to education is written into our funding agreements with the Arts Council and in the Arts Council"s agreements with the regional arts boards. I hope that the hon. Lady will be pleased that North Yorkshire, which has 14 per cent. of the population of Yorkshire, receives 20 per cent. of the budget of Yorkshire Arts. Of that, a significant amount is committed to work with educational organisations—schools and other organisations—to ensure that culture and education reinforce each other, as she and I would both wish.