§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much additional money would have been available to(a) the Arts Council, (b) the Sports Council, (c) the Millennium Commission and (d) the Heritage Lottery Fund in (i) 1997–98 and (ii) 1998–99 if the Government had not introduced the New Opportunities Fund. [72175]
§ Mr. Chris SmithIn line with the overall income forecast of £10.6 billion, we expect the arts, sport, heritage and charities (with £1.85 billion each) and the Millennium Commission (£2.017 billion) to receive more in the current licence period than was originally forecast.
Any retrospective reallocation of the sums announced for the New Opportunities Fund (£1 billion) and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (£200 million) is entirely hypothetical.