HC Deb 23 April 1993 vol 223 cc224-5W
Mr. Faulds

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the objects and property accepted in satisfaction of inheritance tax during the financial year ended 31 March; and if, in listing these, he will specify(a) the amount of tax satisfied in each case, (b) whether any offers of objects carried conditions as to destination, (c) the dates in each case of the recommendations received by him from the Museums and Galleries Commission for the acceptance of objects, (d) the total for the financial year of the tax thus satisfied and (e) how much of this total was covered in the public accounts by means of resort to the reserve in accordance with Government policy as announced on 26 July 1985, Official Report, column 779.

Mr. Brooke

The information the hon. Member requests is as follows:

of each of the three financial years 1990–91, 1991–92 and 1992–93; and whether, taking account of the answer of 30 April 1990, Official Report, columns 439–40, he will indicate the average annual figure of such resort to the reserve which would arise from a breakdown of the total amount of tax satisfied which was thus covered during the eight financial years ensuing since the answer on 26 July 1985 on behalf of the then Minister for the Arts, Official Report, column 779.

Mr. Brooke

The amount of tax satisfied by means of resort to the Reserve in the last three financial years is as follows. Due to underspends in each financial year on the annual provision of £2 million for the acceptance in lieu of objects and property, the amount actually spent from the reserve was less than the original call. The actual spend from the reserve for 1992–93 was lower as it was partly offset from savings elsewhere in the Department—Official Report, 4 February 1993, columns 250–51 I list the actual money spent from the reserve for the hon. Member's information.

Year Amount of tax Satisfied/Call on the Reserve £ Amount actually spent from the Reserve £
1990–91 Nil Nil
1991–92 2,144,172 1,430,445
1992–93 4,324,875 3,281,875
Total 6,469,047 4,712,320

The annual average figure of such resort to the reserve which would arise from the total amount of tax satisfied thus covered during the last eight financial years is £3,881,885.24—tax satisfied—and £3,360,989.74—actually spent.

Sir John Wheeler

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what offers in lieu of tax have been accepted or allocated since his last announcement of 31 March,Official Report, column 235.

Mr. Brooke

Since my last announcement on 31 March, I am pleased to inform the House of the acceptance of three offers in lieu of taxation. The offers consist of a collection of glass which will satisfy £99,974 tax, two sculptures entitled "Parent" and "Young Girl" by Dame Barbara Hepworth-Nicholson which will satisfy £156,750 tax and a portrait of Lady Rouse Boughton by George Romney which will satisfy £105,000 tax. The collection of glass will be allocated to the Victoria and Albert museum and the sculptures will be allocated to Wakefield district council. Those allocations are in accordance with conditions on which these offers were made. No decision has yet been made on the allocation of the portrait by Romney.