§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when Sir Geoffrey Chipperfield's report on the Royal Fine Art Commission will be made available to the House. [28960]
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyI have today placed in the Library copies of Sir Geoffrey Chipperfield's report and my conclusions. Sir Geoffrey has recognised the valuable work done by the Royal Fine Art Commission to improve the quality of design in the major developments which it reviews. He has considered ways in which this work might be done more effectively and has recommended closer links with the statutory planning system. We are discussing with the Department of the Environment how this may best be done and we shall jointly be consulting the local authority associations.
The report also makes various recommendations for the more efficient running of the commission and its secretariat. We have considered these and implemented them where appropriate.
The commission has a high rate of success in persuading developers to adopt suggested improvements, and it has over the years produced a series of influential seminars and publications. I am grateful for the large amount of time which the chairman and 17 commissioners give to this important work.