asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what considerations he took into account when fixing the allocation of funds to the Arts Council announced in his reply of 3rd March to his right hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall (Mr. Strauss); and to what degree his allocation failed to meet the stated requirements of the Arts Council to maintain its existing stands and scope of its activities.

All relevant factors were considered by the Government in granting the Arts Council a 22½ per cent. increase over last year.