National Lottery Bill

I am grateful to both noble Lords who have spoken in the debate. I recognise that this is a probing amendment and I congratulate the noble Viscount on identifying an area that needs to be debated. As he will expect, I shall ask him to withdraw the amendment, but I assure him that we are concerned about this area and that he has raised issues—as, indeed, has the noble Lord, Lord Brooke—which merit reply. The importance of this matter is already well understood by the trustees of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, who have responded magnificently to the challenges in this area. I accept precisely what the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, indicated—that one cannot foresee the crises which occur in particularly expensive areas of expenditure—and we all recognise the difficulties of responding to them. The Heritage Lottery Fund has made 451 awards for the acquisition of works of art and cultural objects by museums and galleries, with a total value of £135 million, and its success rate has been over 86 per cent. It has awarded more than £1 billion for the conservation of 9,500 historic buildings. We all recognise particularly significant achievements in these areas. Noble Lords will recall the great debate, great concern and eventual great joy over the possible sale out of this country of Raphael’s ““The Madonna of the Pinks””, which was saved several years ago, Botticelli’s ““The Virgin Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child””, and Stubbs’s ““Whistlejacket””. They are some of the really big items because they ran into millions. In addition to these works of art, which were of national concern and required—and then achieved—national contributions, there have been many smaller items which benefit visitors to museums and galleries up and down the country. There are also cultural objects of national importance in the fields of industrial, maritime and transport heritage. Noble Lords will be aware of the support that has been given to the Royal Scot, for example, which certainly captured the public imagination. For a wider public, perhaps, not everything which is treasured is necessarily to be found in an art gallery or a museum. The Royal Scot, of course, is very much a part of our industrial and transport heritage. The Heritage Lottery Fund has given more than £500 million, which has included the conservation of cultural objects of national importance in addition to the Royal Scot. These are lottery grants. However, let us not forget the grants made by the National Heritage Memorial Fund, to which the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, referred. This is supervised by the same trustees but is, of course, funded by the taxpayer. The majority of the £220 million that this fund has provided over the past 26 years has been for acquisitions of this kind. It has saved more than 1,200 iconic objects and places for the nation—including Tyntesfield House—since the fund was established 26 years ago. Its annual budget will shortly rise from £5 million to £10 million. The amendment is drawn so widely that the fund already considerably exceeds the 10 per cent figure. On this occasion, the trouble is that the amendment is unnecessarily restrictive, and could place an upper limit on this activity, which I know that both noble Lords who have spoken agree is a valuable form of expenditure. In addition, who can honestly say that we have any criteria on which to decide whether the figure should be 10 per cent rather than 5 per cent or 15 per cent? How do we know what percentage is required? I would have said that this is above all a responsibility for the trustees, and is not one for us to put in legislation, which might be enabling but could as easily be restrictive in identifying such a percentage. The trustees have the information available to assess the competing needs and opportunities to which they can respond. It is important to reaffirm from the Dispatch Box that we will continue to give the Heritage Lottery Fund the flexibility to respond to the opportunities and at times—inevitably—crises that occur with regard to significant artefacts. Were there any question of the issue going to a vote, I would have to challenge the particular figure identified, but as the noble Viscount, Lord Astor, has kindly said, his amendment is probing. I guess that his figure is intended to stimulate debate rather than as a categorical amendment to the Bill. I believe that the Heritage Lottery Fund has demonstrated that it is a sensible and effective team and can be relied on to decide fairly between competing priorities. I do not think that it will be aided by a percentage figure inscribed in legislation, with all the permanence that that would indicate. I do not think that the amendment is necessary, or that it would be helpful as presented. I appreciate, however, that the noble Viscount has taken the opportunity to raise an important consideration, which is foremost in our minds with regard to national lottery funds. We have every confidence that the trustees responsible for this sector of the lottery and its distribution will make the right decisions. I therefore hope that he will be prepared to withdraw his probing amendment.