§ Mr. RathboneTo ask the Minister for the Arts what controls he intends to place on the resale of works of art by those who have purchased under the new regulations recently announced by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
§ Mr. LuceThe Government have never had the power to control the sale of privately owned works of art. On 4 May, the then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced that, if an owner does not accept an offer from a private individual, the existence of that offer will be taken into account in deciding on the export licence application. If either the original owner, having rejected all offers to purchase, or a new owner, subsequently offer the item for resale, no conditions can be imposed on that sale. Should a resale result in an application for an export licence, the normal procedures for considering it would operate.