Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether it is Government policy that (a) works of art held in the national collections, including the British Museum, should be retained by those institutions in the UK in perpetuity and not gifted to other nations and their institutions and (b) the Government will intervene should any such institution propose an alternative approach.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
National museums and galleries in the UK, including the British Museum, operate independently of the Government, but some are prevented by law from “deaccessioning” objects in their collections unless, broadly, they are duplicates or unfit for retention. The two exceptions to this are when the objects are human remains that are less than 1000 years old, and objects that were spoliated during the Nazi era. The Government has no plans to change this law.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ensure that national collections and other recipients of public funding make digital images of works of art held in public collections and which are outside of copyright, free of charge to non-commercial causes and for educational purposes.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As arm’s length bodies of government, national museums determine their own operational matters, including the decision to charge fees for images and reproductions. National museums provide free entry for all to their permanent collections as a condition of government Grant-in-aid funding, a policy that has been hugely successful in boosting museum visits.
In addition, Museums invest significant amounts in maintaining comprehensive online collections portals displaying a wealth of free to access images and information about their collections. This particularly benefits audiences unable to visit museums in person, further extending the reach of our national museums. Museums may also licence their collections and images they produce for a variety of uses. Museums routinely supply images free of charge on request for a variety of educational and non-commercial purposes, but have the right to charge fees for certain re-uses of images they have produced. The fees are an important revenue source, allowing museums to recover costs associated with providing this comprehensive service and where applicable make a return on their investment.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much of the Arts Council funding allocated to Nottinghamshire has been spent in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The table shows the Arts Council England funding that has been spent in each of the last five years:
Commitment Year | Grant in Aid | Lottery |
2009/10 | £ 5,083,755 | £ 3,032,461 |
2010/11 | £ 5,735,601 | £ 825,885 |
2011/12 | £ 4,545,398 | £ 2,077,248 |
2012/13 | £ 5,708,501 | £ 3,528,627 |
2013/14 | £ 5,498,222 | £ 3,712,187 |
Total | £ 26,571,477 | £ 13,176,408 |
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what Arts Council funding has been allocated to Nottinghamshire in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
In each of the last five years, the Arts Council has allocated the following funding (from both Grant in Aid and Lottery funding) to Nottinghamshire:
2009/10 | Grant in Aid | Lottery | Total |
Nottingham | £4,929,745 | £2,131,706 | £7,061,451 |
Nottinghamshire | £149,010 | £511,066 | £660,076 |
Total | £5,078,751 | £2,642,772 | £7,721,527 |
2010/11 | Grant in Aid | Lottery | Total |
Nottingham | £5,606,663 | £528,969 | £6,135,632 |
Nottinghamshire | £128,938 | £306,628 | £435,566 |
Total | £5,735,601 | £835,597 | £6,571,198 |
2011/12 | Grant in Aid | Lottery | Total |
Nottingham | £4,405,300 | £1,797,566 | £6,202,866 |
Nottinghamshire | £140,098 | £279,682 | £419,780 |
Total | £4,545,398 | £2,077,248 | £2,077,248 |
2012/13 | Grant in Aid | Lottery | Total |
Nottingham | £4,957,558 | £3,253,897 | £8,211,455 |
Nottinghamshire | £750,943 | £268,230 | £1,019,173 |
Total | £5,708,501 | £3,522,127 | £9,230,628 |
2013/14 | Grant in Aid | Lottery | Total |
Nottingham | £4,566,810 | £3,471,927 | £8,038,737 |
Nottinghamshire | £931,412 | £240,260 | £1,171,672 |
Total | £5,498,222 | £3,712,187 | £9,210,409 |