§ Mr. Fauldsasked the Minister for the Arts whether he will publish in the Official Report the attendance figures for 1986 reported by the National Museum and Galleries in England for which he is responsible, broken down to the individual institutions but comprising their outstations, with figures in each case of the percentage increase or decrease on the attendance figures for 1985; and whether, in the case of the National Maritime Museum, he will in addition specify the number of admission tickets sold.
§ Mr. LuceFor the 10 national museums and galleries for which I am responsible, the information requested is as follows:
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Estimated attendance in 1986 Percentage change from 1985 British Museum 3,869,639 -6.6 Imperial War Museum 1,175,834 -9.0 National Gallery 3,182,365 +0.8 National Maritime Museum 380,099 -36.6 National Portrait Gallery 624,520 +21.0 Science Museum 4,838,462 +5.0 Tate Gallery 1,153,355 +15.7 Victoria and Albert Museum 1,439,636 -30.4 Wallace Collection 170,797 -4.7 which is not yet decided, specifying in each case (a) the valuation and (b) the relevant time limit; and whether a press notice will be issued from the Office of Arts and Libraries covering the comprehensive information given in his reply, in accordance with the practice established on 6 February 1986.
§ Mr. LuceThe items for which export licences were withheld for a period on the advice of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art are as follows. The valuation has been omitted in two cases when the owner wished it to remain confidential. Details of the items listed were given in press notices issued at the time of the Minister's decision; however, a further press notice will be issued.
Estimated attendance in 1986 Percentage change from 1985 National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside 1,163,304 1 1Because of the reorganisation of Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, figures cannot be compared with earlier years. The National Maritime Museum sold 363,983 tickets in 1986, a drop of 19.7 per cent. on 1985. The level of charge remained constant for 1985 and 1986. A number of factors contributed to the overall reduction in visitor levels. Other museums record visitors by a variety of methods, and in most cases are regarded as being accurate to within 5 per cent. only. This limits the interpretation of apparent annual changes in attendance, which may also be affected by other factors including, for example, the numbers of overseas visitors to London at individual museums and galleries.