§ Mrs. Millie Millerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if a decision has yet been taken on the offer in lieu of tax of individual items from the collection at Mentmore Towers.
§ Mr. Denzil DaviesYes, three items have been accepted. These are an eighteenth century kingood bureau cabinet made for Augustus Rex, a seventeenth century ebony cabinet traditionally associated with Marie de Medici, and a painting by Thomas Gainsborough "Greyhounds Coursing a Fox". The total cost to be borne by the National Land Fund after allowing for relief from estate duty and capital gains tax will be £476,250.
The National Gallery of Scotland has agreed to purchase a painting by Gioranni Batista Moroni "Portrait of a Scholar Seated at a Table". The cost to the gallery after allowing for relief from estate duty and capital gains tax will be £30,500.