§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Minister for the Arts (1) what representations he has received from(a) the chairman of the Arts Council, (b) the chairman of the English National Ballet and the English National Opera and (c) Westminster city council about the future funding of the English National Ballet and English National Opera;
(2) whether he will list the dates in the last six months on which he has met (a) the chairman of the Arts Council, (b) the chairman of the English National Ballet and the English National Opera and (c) the leader of Westminster city council to discuss the impact of the community charge and the uniform business rate on the future funding of English National Ballet and English National Opera.
§ Mr. Luce[holding answer 12 February 1990]: I received a number of representations on behalf of English National Opera and English National Ballet. The Government took these and other factors into account in increasing the Arts Council's grant by 12.5 per cent. in the coming year. As a result, the Arts Council has been able to announce a further increase in its grants to these two companies of £1.1 million each in recognition Of their special local circumstances created by the termination of the London rate equalisation scheme.