§ Mr. Fauldsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in accordance with the recommendation in the Third Report from the Expenditure Committee Session 1977–78, dealing with the National Land Fund, he will revise the administrative rule whereby works of art and museum objects accepted in satisfaction of capital transfer tax are without exception removed from their original location after such acceptance; and whether he will make provision for this rule to be relaxed in exceptional circumstances, in order to make it possible for such items to remain on deposit in their original location for as long as he is satisfied that regular and secure public access can be ensured.
§ Mr. Joel Barnett,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 15th January 1979; Vol. 960, c. 664],gave the following answer
At present a work of art accepted in lieu of tax may be returned to its original home when the home is either owned by one of the national trusts, or by a local authority, or has been the subject of a gift for the public benefit. The Government are considering the Expenditure Committee recommendation that this arrangement should be extended to include houses which remain entirely in private hands.