§ Mr. Fauldsasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action she intends to take to ensure that the Velasquez portrait of Juan de Pareja, which is to be auctioned at Christie's salesrooms today, is kept in this country.
§ Mrs. ThatcherMy noble Friend is taking no action at present. An export licence from my right hon. Friend the Secretary for Trade and Industry would be required before the painting could be exported from this country. If an application for an export licence were made and the expert adviser to the Department of Trade and Industry considered that it should not be granted because of the national importance of the picture, the matter would be referred to the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art. If this committee upheld the national importance of the picture, it could recommend the withholding of a licence for a period to enable a public collection in the United Kingdom to make an offer for it at a specified price. If such an offer were made an export licence would not be issued.