Funding (Hansard, 27 November 1989)

§ 93. Mr. Fraser
To ask the Minister for the Arts what will be the rate of increase of Government support for the arts over the next three years.

§ Mr. Luce
The central Government programme of expenditure on the arts will increase by 24 per cent. over the next three years at an average rate of 7.5 per cent. per year.
123W

§ 96. Mr. Jessel
To ask the Minister for the Arts by what percentage the funding of his Department will increase in 1990–91 over 1989–90.

§ Mr. Luce
By 12.5 per cent.

§ 97. Mr. Michael
To ask the Minister for the Arts what information he has as to what proportion of money for the arts announced in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement will be applied to(a) arts for the disabled, (b) arts for young people and (c) arts in the community.

§ Mr. Luce
The proportion of my Office's expenditure programme which are devoted to the causes described are not determined centrally. However, the institutions funded from the arts programme are aware of the needs of the disabled, etc and are free to give such support within their individual priorities. I was pleased to be able to announce a grant of £150,000 to the Carnegie trust ADAPT fund to improve the accessibility of arts venues to the disabled.

§ 98. Mr. Couchman
To ask the Minister for the Arts what are the increases for the next three years in the funding of the Arts Council.

§ 102. Mr. John Greenway
To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will make a further statement on the increased budget for arts funding announced in the Autumn Statement.

§ 99. Mr. Burns
To ask the Minister for the Arts what representations he has received following the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Autumn Statement as to the allocation of funding to the arts.

§ Mr. Luce
I am pleased to say that I have received a number of letters of appreciation from chairmen and directors of institutions which have benefited from the revised allocations I was able to announce on 16 November.

§ 104. Mr. Bowis
To ask the Minister for the Arts what representations he has received following his statement of support for the Arts Council and other arts funding bodies for 1990–91 and subsequent years.

§ Mr. Luce
I have received many representations thanking the Government for the substantial increase in arts funding which I announced on 16 November.

§ 106. Mr. Watts
To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will make a statement on three-year funding.

§ Mr. Luce
My aim in introducing three-year funding has been to give arts bodies a firm basis for their future planning and to encourage greater self-reliance and diversification of funding. This has involved the introduction of new measures, notably incentive funding for the performing arts and for libraries, and major increases in funding for the buildings and maintenance programme of the museums and galleries. I am very pleased at the success of the three-year strategy and congratulate arts and organisations on their achievements in diversifying and increasing their sources of funding from the private sector, and on becoming more professional in their management in recent years.
On 16 November I announced that following a review of the provisions made in last year's three-year settlement for 1990–91 and 1991–92, in the light of price movements 124W and other developments. I was increasing those provisions by £33 million in each year. I was also pleased to announce an extension of the three-year funding programme to 1992–93, with an increase of 24 per cent. over that period.

§ 107. Mr. Kirkhope
To ask the Minister for the Arts, whether he will make a statement on the budget of the Office of Arts and Libraries for the next three years.

§ Mr. Luce
My Office's total central Government programme of expenditure on the arts, including provision for the heritage and for the British Library St. Pancras project, will rise from £439 million in the current year to £544 million in 1992–93, an increase of 24 per cent.

§ 115. Miss Widdecombe
To ask the Minister for the Arts whether the priority requests from the directors of the national museums and galleries have been met in his allocation of funds over the coming three years.

§ Mr. Luce
In the funding announcement that I made on 16 November I have taken account of the priorities detailed in the corporate plans of the national museums and galleries submitted to us earlier this year, especially on running costs, buildings, and maintenance and the conservation of collections. Over the period 1990–91 to 1992–93 expenditure on national museums and galleries will rise by 25 per cent. overall, and there will be an extra 34 per cent. for building and maintenance in the same period.