asked Her Majesty's Government:Why, arising from the answer of the noble Lord, the Minister of the Arts, to a Question for Written Answer (
Hansard 26th January 1984, cols. 441–444), where "the ultimate destination of a work of art for which an export licence has been refused" is a "publicly funded institution in the United Kingdom" or a "public collection", such destination and the price paid "are … regarded as commercial in confidence, divulged only with the applicants' permission"; and, if the question was misunderstood, whether it can now be answered.
Information was given in response to the noble and learned Lord's previous Question in terms of the country of ultimate destination for items for which export licences were withheld. This and other information about such applications is regarded as commercial in confidence and only disclosed with the applicant's permission. Where such items were subsequently purchased by public collections in the United Kingdom, the price specified by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art was as follows:
Public collections which acquired items under export stop | Price stipulated by the Reviewing Committee in each | |
case£ | ||
£ | ||
1981 | Metropolitan Borough of Wigan | 36,650 |
British Museum (2 items) | 34,993.27 | |
14,000 | ||
1982 | Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge | 750,000 |
National Heritage Memorial Fund | 38,500 | |
Victoria & Albert Museum (2 items) | $60,000 | |
(Sterling equivalent £968) | ||
Staffordshire County Museum | 1,672.50 | |
1983 | National Gallery | 50,000 |
Hampshire County Museums | 11,000 | |
Birmingham City Museum and Art Gallery | 11,500 | |
National Railway Museum | 28,000 | |
British Museum (3 items) | 47,000 | |
22,300 | ||
* | ||
Victoria & Albert Museum (3 items) | 9,804 | |
94,775 | ||
* | ||
HM Armouries (2 items) | 23,304 | |
36,795 | ||
Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts | 13,380 | |
Aberdeen Art Gallery | 24,725 | |
*The owner did not give permission for the specified price to be made known. |