§ Sir David PriceTo ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will arrange with the Property Services Agency that before the freehold of the Tate gallery is handed over to the trustees the fabric of the gallery is brought up to acceptable standards; and how much he estimates it will cost.
§ Mr. Luce[holding answer 8 May 1989]: Untying of the national museums and galleries from the Property Services Agency took effect from 1 April 1988. The progressive transfer of ownership of the buildings to the relevant trustee bodies is part of this process. The Government share the view of the institutions concerned that this allows the trustees to make more flexible and effective use of the resources available for the upkeep and improvement of the buildings.
I have also provided the national museums and galleries with substantial increases in their building and maintenance grant-in-aid over this period. The Tate gallery's provision of £2.4 million in 1988–89 was enhanced by a supplementary estimate of £0.8 million in that year; a further increase of 17 per cent. brings the figure for the current year to £3.8 million.