§ Lord Harrisonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What assessment has been made of the effect of the £25 million grant made to English local theatres between 2001 and 2004; and what further grant will be available from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport through the Arts Council. [HL4765]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord McIntosh of Haringey)In 2001 the Arts Council of England announced an increase in funding of £25 million for theatre; £12 million of this funding was made available in April 2002. From 2003–04 to 2005–06 the Arts Council has made an additional £25 million available for theatres. No decision has yet been made on allocations after this point. The Arts Council published a research report in January 2004 which assessed the impact of this additional funding.