§ Mr. SarwarTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to promote business sponsorship of the arts. [44203]
§ Mr. GalbraithThe Government fully recognise the importance of business sponsorship of the arts, which brings a range of benefits both to the sponsor and to the sponsored organisation.
Active encouragement is given to businesses to sponsor the arts, mainly through Government funding of the Association for Business Sponsorship of the Arts Pairing Scheme, which provides financial awards to arts organisations which have secured sponsorship for individual projects. The Government also provide financial support for specific initiatives which aim to bring relevant business skills and improved management capabilities to arts organisations.