§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what would be the present value of purchase grants for museums in England and Wales had the grants been uprated in line with inflation since 1985. [192]
§ Mr. SproatUntil 1992–93, grant in aid allocations to national museums and galleries in England included a separate provision for purchases which had been kept constant since 1985. Since 1992–93, trustees of those institutions have been free to decide for themselves how much of their grant in aid should be devoted to purchases for their collections. The national museums and galleries of Wales still receives a differentiated grant in aid for running costs, building and maintenance work and purchases for the collection. Had the purchase grants for 1985–86 been increased exactly in line with the deflators for the gross domestic product, they would be as follows:
£ million Institution 1995–96 British Museum 2.316 Imperial War Museum 0.159 National Gallery 4.362 Natural History Museum 0.301 National Maritime Museum 0.325 National Portrait Gallery 0.492 Science Museum 0.731 Tate Gallery 2.879 Victoria and Albert Museum 1.816 Wallace Collection 0.0 National Museum's and Galleries of Wales 1.757