§ Mr. Gummerasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will confirm that the receipts from the proposed sale of Heveningham Hall will be applied to expenditure on the nation's heritage.
§ Mr. HeseltineI am pleased to be able to give my hon. Friend the assurance he is seeking.
When I announced my decision to see whether it would be possible to find a suitable new owner for Heveningham—[Vol. 817W 978, c. 367]—I indicated that the first call on the net proceeds from a sale would be to reimburse the national land fund for the money spent on the acquisition and maintenance of the property. Now that the land fund has been wound up the sale proceeds will be allocated to heritage expenditure—either through the national heritage memorial fund or by increasing the allocation for acceptance of heritage property in lieu of capital transfer tax.