§ Sir Patrick CormackTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many indemnity undertakings were given under section 16 of the National Heritage Act 1980 for the six-month period ended 31 March; and what the value was of(a) contingent liabilities in respect of such undertakings given at any time under that section which remained outstanding as at 31 March, (b) non-statutory Government indemnities in respect of loans handled by the Government Art Collection which remained outstanding as at 31 March and (c) non-statutory undertakings of Her Majesty in respect of loans from the Royal Collection which remained outstanding at 31 March. [55027]
§ Dr. Howells[holding answer 9 May 2002]: The provision for the Government Indemnity Scheme is made by the National Heritage Act 1980. The scheme facilitates public access to loans of works of art and other objects for public display made to museums, galleries and other such institutions by private owners and non-national institutions. It does this by indemnifying lenders against loss or damage to their loan. Loans covered by the scheme must be for public benefit. The scheme also covers loans of such objects for study purposes within borrowing institutions where this would contribute materially to the public's understanding or appreciation of the loan. Examples of this are enhancing interpretation or explanation to the public of objects or bringing into the public domain, the conclusions of any study.
In the six-month period ended 31 March, the following undertakings to indemnify were given under section 16 by the relevant Departments for objects on loan to national and non-national institutions:
Number Department for Culture, Media and Sport 629 Scottish Executive Education Department 258 The National Assembly for Wales 114 The value of contingent liabilities in respect of undertakings given at any time under section 16 and which remained outstanding as at 31 March is:
£ Department for Culture, Media and Sport 2,466,655,792 Scottish Executive Education Department 467,275,161 The National Assembly for Wales 45,990,729 The value of non-statutory Government indemnities to cover loans handled by the Government Art Collection and which remained outstanding as at 31 March is:
Value: £5,500,000.
416W
Payments by scheme for five years—England £000 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Countryside stewardship 15,708 19,896 23,359 28,890 47,326 Arable stewardship — — 470 863 1,500 Energy crops scheme — — — — 234 Environmentally sensitive areas 28,600 37,600 39,500 40,900 48,300 Farm woodland premium 4,700 5,400 5,900 6,000 7,500 Hill farm allowance — — — — 42,346 The value of non-statutory undertakings given to Her Majesty in respect of loans from the Royal Collection and which remained outstanding as at 31 March is:
Value: £219,601,825.