HC Deb 16 May 1963 vol 677 cc176-7W
33. Mr. Boyden

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the Estimate of the Victoria and Albert Museum for 1963–64 to aid purchases by local museums is £5,000 lower than the previous year, when his Standing Commission on Museums and Galleries thought that that sum was of token assistance only and recommended an eight-fold increase.

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

The provision for the current year is lower than that for 1962–63 because the provision in that year was inflated by a specific grant of £5,000 for a particular purchase. It is, however, at £25,000 very much larger than it was in 1954–55 when the figure was £1,320. The report of the Standing Commission on Museums and Galleries is at present under consideration.