§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many employees the Arts Council of England(a) has currently, (b) had on 1 May 1997 and (c) had on 1 May 1999. [116540]
§ Mr. Chris Smith[holding answer 28 March 2000): The number of full-time equivalent employees of the Arts Council of England was: 240.52 in May 1997; 278.3 in May 1998; 212.7 in May 1999; and 204.5 in March 2000. The Arts Council's staff numbers rose between May 1997 and May 1998, largely because of the operation of the Lottery Arts4Everyone programme, a major lottery revenue programme run centrally by the Arts Council of England.