HC Deb 16 March 1949 vol 462 cc192-3W
55 and 57. Mr. York

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what control is exercised over the expenditure of the grants-in-aid made to museums and art galleries by the Treasury;

(2) to state the terms and conditions under which grants-in-aid are made to the British Museum, Natural History Museum, Imperial War Museum. London Museum, National Gallery, the Tate Gallery, National Maritime Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, Science Museum and Local Museum; and the purposes for which the money may be spent by each institution, stating any limitations imposed.

Mr. Glenvil Hall

The purchase grants voted by Parliament for the national collections are paid into funds held by the authorities of the institutions concerned and applied at their discretion to the purchase of material within the scope of the various collections. Expenditure out of the purchase grants is accounted for in detail to the Comptroller and Auditor General, but unexpended balances are not liable to surrender at the end of the financial year. The Treasury is not concerned with individual purchases except on the relatively infrequent occasions when the magnitude of a proposed transaction raises the question of asking Parliament for additional funds. Grants to local museums and art galleries are paid by the Ministry of Education, subject to Grant Regulations No. 15. S.R. and O 1934, No. 364.

56. Mr. York

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he will provide a list of the purchases, with the prices paid for each made out of the grants-in-aid provided by the Civil Vote. Class IV, Votes 1 to 8, for the year ending 31st March, 1948.

Mr. Glenvil Hall

Information about the application of these grants is being prepared and will be circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT as soon as it is ready.