Olympic Games 2012: Heritage and Arts Funding

My Lords, that takes us a bit further and I am encouraged. The phrase that the noble Lord used in his speech was ““temporary diversion of money””. That means that a timescale has been imposed on it, and that when that time is over and the Olympics are over, it will be diverted backto us. Finally, I urge the Minister: please listen to the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Smith of Finsbury. He left the culture department with an enhanced reputation—an almost impossible task for any Minister who has held that role. He said very clearly that enough is enough. I heard the words of Gordon Brown that were quoted by the Minister at the end of his speech; and I hope that Gordon Brown notices them after the regime change. It is up to Gordon Brown to ensure that there is no cut for arts in the spending round this year. That will be his test. All the arts and heritage bodies expect a cut. If it is frozen, it is a cut. We very much expect the Chancellor to redeem what he said in Brighton last week by increasing spending on those bodies. Once again, I thank all noble Lords who have spoken.