§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of works of art and other items from national collections that have been hired out to(a) public and (b) private sector organisations in the last year; and if he will make a statement. [136612]
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§ Mr. Alan HowarthDCMS holds precise figures for the number of loan venues, both home and overseas, to which its sponsored national museums and galleries loaned items in 1999–2000. However, the actual number of loan items involved is not held centrally. We have therefore contacted those institutions to request the information for a reply to my hon. Friend. I will write to him as soon as this is available, placing copies of my letter in the Libraries of both Houses.