§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent on the acquisition of works of art in each year since 1997, broken down by amounts spent on(a) paintings and (b) sculpture; what the single most expensive piece of art purchased by his Department since 1997 was; how much it cost; and what the total revenue raised by his Department through sales of its works of art has been since 1997. [142368]
§ Mr. RammellThe Foreign and Commonwealth Office has spent the following in acquiring works of art since 1997:
£ Paintings Sculptures Total 1997–98 190,820 125,989 316,809 1998–99 15,300 — 15,300 1999–2000 67,054 85,000 152,054 2000–01 72,000 190,000 262,000 2001–02 — — — 2002–03 — — — Total 345,174 400,989 746,163 The single most expensive piece of art purchased over this time was "Dancing Columns", a sculpture by Tony Cragg, which cost £190,000 in the financial year 2000–01.
79WThe Department has not sold any works of art over this period.