HC Deb 01 February 1985 vol 72 cc350-1W
Mr. Faulds

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing, in respect of the drawings sold at auction on 3 July from the Chatsworth collection (i) the number of export licences applied for which were (a) referred to and (b) not referred to the Reviewing Committee for the Export of Works of Art, (ii) the number of export licences which have been issued in normal course (a) by 12 November and (b) at the latest available date and (iii) how many of the export licences applied for have now beeen issued (a) in respect of applications referred to the Reviewing Committee and (b) in respect of applications not so referred; and if he will also set out the position separately regarding individual applications in each category in respect of which licences have not been issued;

(2) whether the figures for the numbers of export licences issued in respect of drawings from the Chatsworth collection contained in the replies by his right hon, Friend the Minister of State, Official Report, 12 November 1984, column 85, and by his hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Official Report, 9 January, column 448, were compiled on the same basis.

Mr. Channon

The figures given in the two replies were compiled on the same basis. Of the 61 export licence applications received for drawings known to have come from the Chatsworth collection, 21 were referred to the reviewing committee. On the advice of the committee, export licences were temporarily withheld in respect of 13 of the applications so referred, but were later issued in respect of 12 of these: only in the remaining case was an offer made to purchase the work on behalf of a British collection. Licences have also been issued in respect of all the applications not referred to the reviewing committee —40 in number—in respect of those applications which were referred to the committee but where the committee did not recommend that licences should be withheld—eight in number. It has been the practice of successive governments not to provide information about export licences applied for or issued for reasons of commercial confidentiality. I regret that I therefore cannot provide the further details requested.