§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
On what terms Sock Shop and Burberrys have been allowed to exhibit and advertise their goods in the galleries of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and on what terms national treasures in the care of that museum have been transferred as a sales adjunct to the custody of Harrods.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Baroness Trumpington)This is a matter for the director and trustees of the Museum. I will ask the director to write to the noble Lord.
§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
What guarantees Harrods have given of the care they will take of (a) the Waterloo Vase, (b) the Duke of Wellington's Berlin Service and (c) pictures, including at least one by John Crome, all from the Victoria and Albert Museum, while they are in Harrods' Knightsbridge shop.
§ Baroness TrumpingtonThis is a matter for the director and trustees of the museum. I will ask the director to write to the noble Lord.
§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the present commercial use of gallery space at the Victoria and Albert Museum and of objects in its care outside the museum had been discussed with the expert curators who have recently been required to take early retirement.
§ Baroness TrumpingtonThis is a matter for the director and trustees of the museum. I will ask the director to write to the noble Lord.
§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether all objects in the care of the Victoria and Albert Museum are at present on show in its galleries.
§ Baroness TrumpingtonAs with all national collections, it is not possible for the Victoria and Albert Museum to display all the objects in the collections at the same time. Objects in reserve collections are made available regularly to scholars and members of the public on request.
§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the chairman, trustees and/or director of the Victoria and Albert Museum have any authority to dispose of objects in the care of the museum.
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§ Baroness TrumpingtonThe Board of Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum has limited powers to dispose of objects in its collections. These are set out in Section 6 of the National Heritage Act 1983.
§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
From what accounts the money was required to secure the early retirement of expert curators from the Victoria and Albert Museum taken, and whether the museum's building fund was depleted in order to obtain this money.
§ Baroness TrumpingtonI understand that, as a result of the postponement of a capital building project, the Victoria and Albert Museum was unable to use in full the grant-in-aid allocated to it for building and maintenance purposes in, 1988–89. The museum has, at its own request, vired the sum of £330,000 from its building and maintenance grant-in-aid to its running costs grant-in-aid for 1988–89 to meet the cost of the initial lump sum payments to those members of staff who are taking voluntary redundancy.