§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the organisations which have received Arts Council stabilisation grants indicating the sums involved in each case; and what criteria the Council used in making its decisions on the allocation of the grants. [85298]
§ Mr. Chris Smith[holding answer 24 May 1999]: The Pilot Stabilisation Programme, launched by the Arts Council of England in September 1997, made financial awards to 14 organisations, including two consortiums and one interim award (to the English National Opera). The aim of the programme is to strengthen arts organisations creatively, managerially and financially by providing them with expert advice and financial resources, giving them the opportunity to put themselves on a more secure financial footing.
The criteria used by the Arts Council were published at the time the scheme was originally announced.
£ Birmingham Repertory Theatre 5,773,000 Blackheath Concert Halls 1,150,000 Bournemouth Orchestras 3,182,000 Cinema City, Norwich 385,272 Embroiderers' Guild 485,301 English National Opera 19,200,000 Hampshire Arts Centres Consortium 394,000 Inner City Music 530,260 The Junction, Cambridge 474,013 London Symphony Orchestra 868,000 Northern Sinfonia 1,691,781 Sheffield Museums and Galleries Consortium 1,098,377 Tara Arts Group 605,534 West Yorkshire Playhouse 2,645,000 1Two awards: October 1997 £4.5m and September 1998 £4.7m
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much of the Arts Council of England's grant in aid for the current year remains unallocated. [85289]
§ Mr. Chris Smith[holding answer 24 May 1999]: The Arts Council has allocated its budget in full, including making provision for flexible funding for new initiatives. Plans for these initiatives will be announced over coming weeks.
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the Arts Council on improving the performance of their building monitors. [85291]
§ Mr. Chris Smith[holding answer 24 May 1999]: The National Audit Office published on 14 May its report on the Arts Council's monitoring of major capital projects, funded by the National Lottery, which covered the performance of building monitors. My officials have, of course, discussed with the Arts Council the content 97W of the report and ways of maintaining improvements in the performance of building monitors, and will continue to do so.