Lord Addington
Main Page: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, as the noble Lord is no doubt aware, there are 38 designated residences that require the permission of my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary before they can possibly be sold. The Lapa Palace was the last one to be sold. Two others are under consideration—Geneva and Cape Town, the latter because it is occupied for only two months of the year and Geneva because it is not best positioned.
Lord Addington (LD)
My Lords, will the noble Earl give us an assurance that in future when this type of event occurs, the Government will publish what has happened so that there is no confusion?
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, our heads of mission must certify annually that all Government Art Collection artwork, as well as antiques and other art, are present, in good order and properly recorded on an internal database. I recommend to the noble Lord the Government Art Collection website, where he will be able to pinpoint exactly where all the works of art are.