Films and Television

HC Deb 13 July 1987 vol 119 c355W

63. Mr. Gwilym Jones

asked the Minister for the Arts what steps he is taking to help preserve classic works of films and television.

Mr. Luce

The British Film Institute maintains the national film archive, and, thanks particularly to the great generosity of private donors, it has recently been able to open a new conservation centre at Berkhamsted. In all, the institute spent £5.2 million on the building of the centre and the transfer and preservation of film in 1986–87. Negotiations are in progress about extending the television coverage of the archive. The national heritage memorial fund donated £62,000 to the archive in 1986–87, specifically for the preservation of classic films.