§ Mr. Geoffrey Finsbergasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total expenditure on the arts in the years ended 31st March 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973, respectively.
330W
§ Mr. St. John-StevasIt is not possible to give details of total expenditure on the arts because of the varying contributions by local authorities and other bodies outside the Government. The table below gives details of the expenditure carried on the Arts Vote for England, Wales and Scotland for the years in question:
Year ended National Museums and Galleries £m. Arts Council and Other Arts £m. Total £m. 31st March 1970 8.047 9.045 17.092 31st March 1971 10.259 10.780 21.039 31st March 1972 11.869 13.725 25.594 31st March 1973 13.949 16.242 30.191 These figures do not include expenditure by the Government on maintenance etc. of the buildings of the national museums and galleries, which is largely borne on the Vote of the Department of the Environment. May I refer in this connection to my Written Answer to the Question by the right hon. Member for Vauxhall (Mr. Strauss) on 23rd October 1973—[Vol. 861, c. 456.]—in which I gave an estimated set figure of £23 million for Government expenditure on the national galleries and museums. Nor do any of these figures take account of Government expenditure and expenditure by others on all kinds of ancient monuments, historic houses, etc.