§ 37. Mr. Andrew MitchellTo ask the Minister for the Arts what plans he has for the future of the business sponsorship incentive scheme.
§ Mr. LuceI am delighted with the progress of the scheme which, since its inception in 1984, has already brought £23 million of new money into the arts and has attracted over 900 new sponsors. As I announced to the House on 6 February at column643, to encourage even more businesses to support the arts, I propose to allow individual arts organisations to be eligible for up to two awards next year instead of one as at present, up to the maximum of £25,000.