§ Sir Hal MillerTo ask the Minister for the Arts if he will make a statement on the proposed relocation of the Sadler's Wells royal ballet to Birmingham.
§ Mr. LuceI have learnt of this proposal with great pleasure. I am very appreciative of the considerable contribution which the city of Birmingham is to make to the promotion of dance. The move will enable the Sadler's Wells royal ballet to perform on a larger scale and to tour more widely. It will bring ballet of the highest quality to more people than ever before. To facilitate the move, I propose to make an extra payment of £0.5 million to the Arts Council, to be passed to the royal opera house, in 1989–90.