§ Mr. John CryerTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many indemnity undertakings were given by departments under section 16 of the National Heritage Act 1980 for the six-month period ended 31 March; and what was the value of(a) any contingent liabilities in respect of such undertakings given at any time under that section which remain outstanding as at 31 March, (b) non-statutory Government indemnities in respect of loans handled by the Government Art Collection which remain outstanding as at 31 March and (c) non-statutory undertakings to Her Majesty in respect of loans from the Royal Collection which remain outstanding at 31 March. [2027]
§ Mr. Chris SmithThe provision for the Government Indemnity Scheme is made by the National Heritage Act 1980. The scheme facilitates public access to loans of works of art and other objects for public display made to museums, galleries and other such institutions by private owners and non-national institutions. It does this by indemnifying lenders against loss or damage to their loan. Loans covered by the scheme must be for public benefit. The scheme also covers loans of such objects for study purposes within institutions where this would contribute materially to the public's understanding or appreciation of the loan—for example through a scholarly publication.
In the six month period ended 31 March 1997, the following undertakings to indemnify were given under section 16 by the relevant Departments for objects on loan to national and non-national institutions:
Numbers Department of National Heritage 469 Scottish Office Education and Industry Department 66 Welsh Office Education Department 65 Department of Education for Northern Ireland 28 The value of contingent liabilities in respect of undertakings given at anytime under section 16 and which remained outstanding at 31 March 1997 is:
137W
- Department of National Heritage: £1,337,264,837
- Scottish Office Education and Industry Department: £38,701,845
- Welsh Office Education Department: £60,611,806
- Department of Education for Northern Ireland: £10,678,989
The value of non-statutory Government Indemnities to cover loans handled by the Government Art Collection and which remained outstanding at 31 March 197 is:
Value: £9,000,000The value of non-statutory Undertakings given to Her Majesty in respect of loans from the Royal Collection and which remained outstanding at 31 March 1997 is:
Value: £100,327,077