§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will publish tables showing(a) the number of new buildings, (b) the amount spent on new buildings, (c) the amount spent on repairs and maintenance and (d) the amount spent on building renovation by his Department in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. RentonResponsibility for the repairs and maintenance of the two properties occupied by my Department rests with the Property Services Agency (PSA). The payments made to it in respect of these works are given the table:
£ 1986–87 26,747 1987–88 24,525 1988–89 36,333 1989–90 41,376 1990–91 52,983 Prior to 1 April 1988, responsibility for the building and maintenance programmes of the national museums and galleries that my Department sponsors and of the British library also rested with the PSA. Expenditure incurred by the PSA, but which was included in the central Government arts programme, was £34.5 million in 1986–87 and £34.0 million in 1987–88 in respect of the national museums and galleries, and £11.2 million and £21.8 million, respectively, for the British library.
From 1 April 1988, such costs have become the responsibility of the individual institutions, with that of the new British library building project at St. Pancras the responsibility of my Department.
The grant in aid provisions for the national museums and galleries building and maintenance programmes are:
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Grant in aid Building programme provision (Amounts shown in £ millions) Institutions 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 British museum 6.497 7.650 9.000 Imperial War museum 6.363 4.097 3.100 National gallery 3.255 4.390 5.100 National Maritime museum 1.853 3.450 4.600 National museums and galleries on Merseyside 2.690 3.060 3.800 National Portrait gallery 2.926 1.530 1.800 Natural History museum 6.172 6.260 8.100 Science museum 4.617 5.310 5.920 Tate gallery 3.236 3.800 4.800
Institutions 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 Victoria and Albert museum 7.024 7.660 9.900 Wallace collection 0.271 0.482 0.627 Totals 44.904 47.689 56.747 Expenditure on the British library building project at St. Pancras is:
£ million 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 23.3 41.4 49.2
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Minister for the Arts what information he has on the level of repairs and maintenance needs in(a) theatres, (b) museums and (c) libraries.
§ Mr. RentonI am setting in hand a new initiative to review and assess rigorously the building renovation needs of the national museums and galleries which I sponsor. This review, which will be undertaken by professional multidiscipline building consultants, will entail a detailed study of a variety of building conditions and other technical surveys. These will be compared against requirements already identified in museums buildings and the need for further technical studies identified if required. The review should be completed by summer 1991. The results will inform my decisions in carrying forward the Government's policy of bringing about the renovation of these important and historic buildings by the end of the decade; I am at present providing £189 million over the next three years towards these building and maintenance needs.
I understand that the Theatres Trust is carrying out a small study to establish whether a systematic examination of the national state of theatres could be undertaken at reasonable cost. It is for other relevant funding bodies, including local authorities, to determine the needs for the buildings within their areas of responsibility.