§ Mr. Fauldsasked the Minister for the Arts if he will state for each year since 1979 the length of time which elapsed between the end of the year to which successive reports of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art related and the publications of the relevant reports to what factors he attributes the length of these periods and the trend shown by them; and what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken to publish these reports.
§ Mr. Luce[pursuant to his reply, 10 March 1986, c. 360]: The reports of the reviewing committee refer to the year running from 1 July to 30 June. Recent publication dates are as follows:
Reporting year Date of publication Time from end of reporting year 1979–80 May 1981 11 months 1980–81 March 1982 9 months 1981–82 March 1983 9 months 1982–83 March 1984 9 months 1983–84 June 1985 12 months These figures do not illustrate any particular trend, but the case load of the reviewing committee has in that time increased substantially, although its staffing has not. I am conscious of the desirability of prompt publication, notwithstanding other pressures, and the secretariat is continuing to do its best to reduce the publication time despite its increased workload.