§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total Exchequer grant to the Victoria and Albert Museum; what was the cost of the museum's regional services department for the latest available year; what will be the museum's costs on services outside London once its department of regional services has been disbanded; and to what location in Wales it will continue circulating material after this department is disbanded.
§ Mr. OakesThe total approved estimate for the expenditure of the Victoria and Albert Museum in the financial year 1976–77 was £4,363,000. The cost of the Regional Services Department in that year was estimated to be £250,000. Future arrangements for circulating throughout Great Britain material from the national collections are to be discussed in the summer at a conference being convened by the Standing Commission on Museums and Galleries. It is therefore not yet possible to estimate the museum's expenditure on services outside London next year.