§ 54. Sir David Priceasked the Minister for the Arts what steps he has taken to ensure that the buildings which house the national collections are adequate for the task.
§ Mr. LuceThe Government have made a deliberate shift of emphasis, within the sums made available for the national collections, towards the maintenance and improvement of the museum and gallery buildings. The allocation that I recently announced for 1987–88 represents an increase in real terms of more than 30 per cent. over the allocation in 1979–80. The Government also encourage, and greatly welcome, donations from the private sector towards the refurbishment and expansion of national museum and gallery buildings.
I announced in July of last year that, from 1988–89, the national museums and galleries for which I am responsible will no longer be tied to the Property Services Agency but will become responsible for their own buildings and will be funded accordingly. This change has been welcomed by all the institutions concerned and I am pleased by the way they are working towards taking on these new responsibilities.