§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what plans he has to intervene in the proposed closure of the Scottish national portrait gallery; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what representations he has received on the importance of the Scottish national portrait gallery as a scholarly resource and to Scottish life; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir Hector Monro[holding answer 2 February 1993]: When the trustees of the National Galleries of Scotland first announced, in August 1991, that they wished to establish a gallery of Scottish art, one member of the public wrote to my right hon. Friend expressing concern that such a proposal could lead to the demise of the Scottish national portrait gallery.
My right hon. Friend has not received from the trustees a firm and costed proposal for a Scottish gallery and has given no commitment to funding for such a proposal. The trustees have been specifically asked to examine the effect of the proposed gallery on the existing grouping of the national collections and on the buildings in which these are currently housed.