§ Mr. Sternasked the Minister for the Arts whether Her Majesty's Government have accepted any items in lieu of tax in accordance with the arrangements announced on 6 February.
§ Mr. LuceI am pleased to announce that an enhanced provision of £1,165,000 to Class XIII, Vote 10 to be charged to the Contingency Reserve has allowed the acceptance of a painting of the "Madonna and Child" by Giovanni Bellini, which would be allocated to the Ashmolean museum, Oxford, in accordance with the conditions attached to the offer. The amount of tax satisfied by this acceptance is £725,000. The offer of a second item (which would be similarly funded) is in the final stages of agreement. Further details will be made available when the acceptance has been completed.