Churchill Papers (Hansard, 11 May 1995)

§ Mr. Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage in what circumstances historians and others wanting to use the Churchill papers, following their purchase for the state, will have to pay a copyright fee; to whom such copyright proceeds would go; what is the estimated amount of such proceeds per annum; and if he will make a statement. [22447]
576W

§ Mr. Dorrell
Anyone wishing to use the Churchill papers for commercial purposes will need to seek permission from the copyright owners. Copyright in the non-state papers is vested in the Churchill family; copyright in the state papers is vested in the Crown. The proceeds go to the copyright owners; it is not possible to estimate the amount per annum of such proceeds as this is entirely dependent upon the use made of the papers.

§ Mr. Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on his consultations with the national heritage memorial fund in respect of the decision to purchase the Churchill papers. [22448]

§ Mr. Dorrell
Under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993, the national heritage memorial fund is responsible for distributing 20 per cent. of the net proceeds from the national lottery for expenditure on or connected with the national heritage. Individual funding decisions on applications are made entirely independently of Government. However, once the NHMF had reached its decision to fund the purchase of the non-state papers in the archive, the Government chose to transfer the state papers in the archive to Churchill college in order that it be retained intact for the nation.

§ Mr. Gordon Prentice
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many items in the Churchill papers recently purchased(a) are state papers, (b) are private papers and (c) have been the subject of dispute as to whether they are state or private. [22934]

§ Mr. Dorrell
The Government are of the view that none of the papers recently purchased by the national heritage memorial fund was a state paper.

§ Mr. Fisher
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the state papers or classes of state papers which Her Majesty's Government have given to Churchill college and the Churchill archive. [22946]

§ Mr. Dorrell
The classes of state papers transferred to the Churchill college by the Crown were those listed as "official" in the catalogue of the Chartwell papers which is available at Churchill college, Cambridge and in the national register of archives, Chancery lane. They include papers relating to Sir Winston Churchill's appointments as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, President of the Board of Trade, Home Secretary, First Lord of the Admiralty, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War and Air, Colonial Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister, and to the Cabinet, War Council, War Cabinet and Committee of Imperial Defence.
The remaining classes in the catalogue also contain a number of state papers; ownership of these was transferred at the same time.