Museums and Galleries

HC Deb 31 March 1998 vol 309 cc453-4W

Mr. Swinney

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will state the(a) percentage and (b) total amount of grant in aid awarded to museums and galleries in (i) London, (ii) England and (iii) Scotland. [36130]

Mr. Fisher

[holding answer 26 March 1998]: Information for 1997–98 is in the following table. These figures exclude spending on museums and galleries by local authorities and universities and do not therefore reflect the true geographic balance of public resources.

	Grant-in-aid in 1997–98 (£ million)	Percentage of total
London1	185.20	77.5
of which:
DCMS2	184.70
MGC3	0.50
England (excluding London)	21.40	9.0
of which:
DCMS2	15.30
MGC3	6.10
Scotland	32.30	13.50
of which:
MGC3	0.02
SO4	32.30
Total	238.9	100.0
1 The data for London include the national museums situated there. and galleries situated there.
2 Department for Culture, Media and Sport (excluding MGC).
3 Museums and Galleries Commission (grant-in-aid from DCMS).This figure is not yet final.
4 Scottish Office.

The picture is somewhat distorted as most national museums and galleries are in London, accounting for £175.8 million (73.4 per cent. of the total). This is inevitable as London is our capital city. Removing this figure from the calculation results in a more even distribution of funding.