§ 8. Mr. Peter Pike (Burnley)What discussions she has had with the Arts Council about the distribution of lottery funds for arts projects in the north-west. [61224]
§ The Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting (Dr. Kim Howells)None. The north-west has received more than £175 million in arts lottery funding to date, and it is the second-highest recipient of arts lottery funding of all the British regions.
§ Mr. PikeMy hon. Friend will recognise that it is a year ago today that Burnley had disturbances on its streets. I am sure that he will agree that art is one means of bringing communities together, as was shown by Artspeak at Burnley Mechanics on Thursday and Friday last week. Does he recognise that Burnley youth theatre has done tremendous work locally to bring the community together? Will he urge members of the Arts Council to go to Burnley, meet members of Burnley youth theatre and ensure that action is taken at an early date to sort out the final few snags in its lottery grant?
§ Dr. HowellsYes; I do not think that my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Arts would have any problem agreeing to my hon. Friend's suggestions. My hon. Friend will be aware that Burnley has received more than £670,000 of lottery funding, which is largely consistent with other districts when considered in terms of per capita spend. I agree entirely with him that spending on the arts is one way of trying to capture the anger and frustration that appear to have expressed themselves in his constituency, and to channel them more constructively.
§ Bob Spink (Castle Point)For the sake of the north-west, as well as the rest of the country, when will the Minister consider reducing the bureaucracy and increasing the common sense in awarding lottery grants?
§ Dr. HowellsI understand that a number of initiatives are under way to try to reduce the red tape, bureaucracy and time involved in awarding lottery grants. That is a huge 602 task, as I am sure the hon. Gentleman knows. Unprecedented amounts of money have been awarded, not least in the north-west, and they have to be spent properly. The last thing we need is lottery grants being put into projects that prove to be unsustainable and subsequently fail.
§ Ian Stewart (Eccles)The recent White Paper "Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions" has been well received in the north-west. It proposes that elected regional assemblies devise and fund strategies for the arts, tourism and sport. Surely the Arts Council's recent centralisation flies in the face of that. Will my hon. Friend consider the issue again?
§ Dr. HowellsI do not agree with my hon. Friend. Anyway, as the proposal will not be implemented for at least five years, if any fine tuning is needed we have plenty of time in which to do it.
§ Mr. Patrick McLoughlin (West Derbyshire)How much of the money awarded to the north-west is underspent?
§ Dr. HowellsI have no idea, but I shall try to find out, and will write to the hon. Gentleman.