asked Her Majesty’s Government:

How much public funding is being made available to the Arts Council during the current financial year, and how much is planned for the next two financial years.

My Lords, the Government have a proud record of providing substantial support to the arts. Subject to parliamentary approval, we expect Arts Council England revenue grant in aid to be £421 million this year, rising to £429 million in 2008-09 and £443.5 million in 2009-10. Arts Council England lottery income is projected to be £146 million this year, £137 million in 2008-09, and £115 million in 2009-10. Grant-in-aid funding for Arts Council England will rise to £467 million by 2010-11—an increase of 3.3 per cent above inflation over three years, or an extra £50 million above inflation by 2010.

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that reply. Is he satisfied that the substantial funds are being spent wisely? Is he aware, for example, that in the regional theatre world there is great dismay at recent decisions by Arts Council England to the effect that many regional theatres may have to close?

My Lords, it is always a matter of concern when theatres, particularly the regional ones, have to close, but the noble Lord will appreciate that Arts Council England is responsible for its own decisions. The Government’s grant in aid is to provide it with the resources for those decisions. Arts Council England is of course concerned to reward and increase the opportunities for the innovative. Therefore there will be change, and some recipients of previous years’ funding will lose their support in order that others, who are being innovative, get increased support.

My Lords, the recent settlement received by the Arts Council generally has been well received. However, due to raids on the lottery, the truth is that there is a huge shortfall across the sector as a whole, which is having a knock-on effect. The Government have promised a cultural festival to run in parallel with the Olympic Games, but a report published last week reveals that diversion of funds from the lottery has jeopardised the existence of the very groups which will deliver this Cultural Olympiad. What is the status of the funding and organisation of the Cultural Olympiad?

My Lords, the Cultural Olympiad is an important dimension of the work in progress for 2012. The noble Baroness is right that a plethora of institutions will provide that across the country. We are concerned that arts funding is maintained, which is why the Government have increased their level of arts funding. The Olympic Games make a demand on the lottery of a spectacularly significant kind. However, I bring to the House’s attention the fact that the Olympic Games will cost only 19 per cent of the National Lottery’s disbursements. Therefore, we should not exaggerate its impact on other sectors.

My Lords, does the BBC get any contributions towards running the Proms every year? Will the Minister confirm that the promenade concerts are a great national institution, which is enjoyed not by thousands of people and not by tens of thousands of people but by hundreds of thousands of people of all sorts every year? Will he further confirm that it is the Government’s view that the concerts are not for just the middle classes, but that they are enjoyed by a very wide portion of society, not only in this country but from all over the world?

My Lords, the Proms are, of course, a national institution from which a very large number of people worldwide derive huge enjoyment. It is a BBC event and the costs and support for the concerts are borne by the BBC, in addition to the contribution received from those who pay at the door. The Proms are nothing to do with the Government and are probably none the worse for that.

My Lords, how does the funding of the arts compare with the Governments funding of the rehabilitation of servicemen wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq?

I must say that that is a tough comparator, my Lords. I do not know the funding for our service personnel who are wounded in Afghanistan, but I know that there is a clear obligation on government and the Ministry of Defence to ensure that they get the best possible care. They are not in competition with an arts budget, which involves an entirely separate department. The arts have proper demand on our consideration, too.