§ 49. Mr. Butlerasked the Minister for the Arts if he will make a statement on the progress of his arts marketing scheme.
§ Mr. LuceI was pleased to announce on 30 July 22 awards to arts organisations under the scheme, reflecting a variety of innovative marketing techniques. I shall be interested to follow their progress and see how successful they are.
There was a good response, with over 200 applications, but some showed a need to improve marketing expertise. I have therefore offered a one-day professional consultancy to the unsuccessful applicants.
The scheme was experimental for one year. I do not believe it should be continued in its present form in 1988–89. I am now actively considering how I can follow it up to encourage arts bodies to market themselves more effectively in other ways.