HC Deb 25 May 1994 vol 244 c183W
Mr. Robert Ainsworth

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans he has to increase assistance to museums run by local authorities containing collections of national significance.

Mr. Sproat

There are many museum collections of national significance, a large number run by local authorities. In his announcement on 11 May,Official Report, column 172, my right hon. Friend advised the House that he was about to undertake a review of the Department's policy towards museums and galleries. That is now under way: we welcome comments from anyone who wishes to offer them, but it would not be right for me to anticipate the outcome of the review.

Mr. Robert Ainsworth

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what information he has concerning local authority museums selling all or part of their collections due to financial constraints in the years 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Sproat

There are a number of reasons why museums, including those run by local authorities, might dispose of items in their collections. However, systematic data on such disposals, and the reasons for them, are not collected by my Department.

Mr. Robert Ainsworth

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage which museum collections owned by local authorities attract central Government grant assistance; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Sproat

Local authorities and their museums attract grant assistance from Government Departments in a wide variety of ways and for differing purposes. It is not possible to provide comprehensive details of such assistance across the museum field. While my own Department does not offer specific assistance to local authority museums, it does provide funding to bodies such as the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Museums and Galleries Comission, which provides grants and other support to a wide range of museums and galleries; similarly, my Department participates in the museums and galleries improvement fund, a joint initiative with the Wolfson Foundation and Family Charitable Trust.