§ Mr. Hannamasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is satisfied with the financial contribution local authorities make towards the arts.
§ Mr. Hugh JenkinsAs the hon. Member knows, local authorities are at present under great pressures in relation to expenditure of all kinds. It is entirely right that they should determine themselves how they should spend their money. I believe, however, that there are ways in which patronage of the arts by many local authorities could be made more effective and also that better understandings with regional arts associations would in many cases go a long way to help. Some authorities are adjusting their expenditure so as to enable greater contributions to be made towards the arts.