§ Dr. A. Thompsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will draw to the attention of local authorities, in conjunction with the Scottish 230W Committee of the Arts Council, the need to increase financial aid to the Scottish National Orchestra in order to reduce its deficit and to enable it to plan ahead for the next five-year period.
§ Mr. MaclayThe local authorities and the Scottish Committee of the Arts Council have shown their appreciation of the importance of the Scottish National Orchestra and of its financial difficulties by their past generous support. The Scottish Committee has already made a substantial increase in its grant for the current year and I am sure that the local authorities, in response to the Directors' approach, will consider how far their contributions may also be raised as a further step towards meeting the orchestra's needs.