§ Mr. Ripponasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress has been made towards giving major artistic institutions security of national subsidy for a period of more than a year in advance to enable them to make long-term plans and commitments.
§ Miss Jennie LeeMy Department and the Arts Council have discussed over a long period the possibility of settling grants on a three-year basis, thereby enabling the Council to give advance assurances to their clients. The matter will be further considered in the light of the recommendations made in the Eighth Report of the Estimates Committee. I fully appreciate the importance of long-term planning and some progress has already been made in this direction.