§ Mr. A. Royleasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to acquire for the nation the picture of the Duke of Wellington by Goya sold at Sotheby's on 14th June to a United States citizen.
§ Mr. Selwyn LloydAs my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade indicated on 9th June in answer to a Question by the hon. Member for Louth (Sir C. Osborne), any application for an export licence for this picture will be referred to an expert adviser for special scrutiny. If the adviser were to recommend that a licence should be refused because of the picture's national importance the case would then be referred to the Reviewing Committee on62W the Export of Works of Art. No question of acquisition of the picture for a public collection could arise until the case had come before the Reviewing Committee.