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Touring Productions
3. Helen Jones (Warrington, North): What steps he is taking to encourage national theatre, opera and ballet companies to put on more touring productions. [83410]
The Minister for the Arts (Mr. Alan Howarth): We continually make it clear that improving access to the arts is among our highest priorities, and the Arts Council of England shares our commitment. Many of the national companies, including the royal ballet, the Birmingham royal ballet, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the royal national theatre, already tour extensively across the country. Further touring has been supported by the Arts Council through the new audiences programme, which covers the whole of England.
Helen Jones: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that reply, but is he aware of the increasing disquiet in areas such as mine about the absence of many touring companies and the feeling that the regions are paying for companies that they never see? Is not it time that some of those companies became truly national rather than London companies and were made to tour as a condition of their grants? Will he put pressure on the Arts Council to bring that about?
Mr. Howarth: We have increased the budget of the Arts Council touring department by nearly 6 per cent. and my hon. Friend will, of course, be aware that the budget for North West Arts is up 12.8 per cent. this year. She is right to say that increased public funding should bear with it an entitlement to increased access to the arts by all those who contribute funding.
Among the major companies that have visited the north-west in the past year are the Royal Shakespeare Company, which has been to Ellesmere Port and to Morecambe; the royal national theatre, which has also been to Morecambe; the English national ballet, which has been to the Liverpool Empire and is returning for another week and for two weeks at the Palace theatre in Manchester; and the Birmingham royal ballet, which has also been to Liverpool and is going to Salford.
I hope that my hon. Friend will agree that Manchester and Salford are not a million miles from Warrington. We will continue to do all we can to ensure that her constituents have the cultural opportunities that they ought to have.
Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex):
The Minister should ignore the dismal whingeing from behind him and we should all rejoice in the scale and breadth of touring that companies undertake across the country, but will he see what he can do to encourage some of the great picture galleries of this country to lend more pictures to other institutions--perhaps to town halls and other places--so that people have the chance to see more of the regional aspect of some of the remarkable national picture collections in Britain?
Mr. Howarth:
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. He may be aware of the heritage lottery fund's £7 million
Mr. Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock):
I congratulate my hon. Friend on his reply on production companies, but what strategy do the Government have for making theatre, opera and ballet available to and appreciated by working- class children? There needs to be a strategy and there is not one, and I hope that this radical Government see it as their duty to make theatre, opera and ballet available to kids in the most deprived parts of the United Kingdom. What does he say about that?
Mr. Howarth:
I assure my hon. Friend that that point is absolutely central to our strategy. We have made a commitment to ensuring that the arts play the wonderful part that they can play in education, and we insist on that in all the funding agreements that we have negotiated with the bodies that we fund. We find that those bodies readily welcome that, and share our strategy of ensuring that the arts play a far fuller part in education than they have hitherto.
Mr. Dafydd Wigley (Caernarfon):
Given that the Minister represents Newport, he will be well aware of the considerable contribution made by the Welsh national opera, not only by way of touring in Wales, but in a number of centres in England. Can he say whether a draft concordat has been developed with the Executive of the National Assembly for Wales with regard to the future of the funding and organisation of that sort of activity, which clearly is of benefit both sides of the border?
Mr. Howarth:
I join the right hon. Gentleman in his praise for the Welsh national opera. I am pleased that it is jointly funded by the Arts Council of Wales and the Arts Council of England. Yes, my officials are working on the preparation of a draft concordat to take account of the new circumstances in Wales and we look forward to publishing it for consultation.
4. Mrs. Sylvia Heal (Halesowen and Rowley Regis):
How many schools he estimates will benefit in the first year of the national lottery-funded out of school hours activities. [83411]
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mr. Chris Smith):
The number of schools that will benefit in the first year of the programme of out of school hours activities under the new opportunities fund will depend on the number of successful applications initially submitted. I hope, however, that many schools and local communities will want to take early advantage of the programme. It provides a good opportunity for the development of activities for pupils in homework, extra learning, arts, music and, I am very pleased to say, sport, including competitive team games.
Mrs. Heal:
While I welcome my right hon. Friend's comments, will he assure the House that the development
Mr. Smith:
I can, indeed, give that assurance to my hon. Friend. The number of people playing the lottery has been such that the expectations of the original lottery distributors have not only been met, but are already well on course to be exceeded. I can tell the House today that the money that good causes will receive from the national lottery is, according to the latest estimates, likely to be at least £250 million more than had previously been expected. Those new figures should mean at least £40 million extra each for the arts, heritage, sport and charities--and it could be considerably more.
Mr. James Gray (North Wiltshire):
Does not the Secretary of State find it odd to be answering questions that should much more properly be answered by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment? Is he doing so because the so-called new opportunities fund removes £3.7 billion from the good causes that should be funded from the lottery, and even if the money from the lottery goes up, it will do so by £3.7 billion less than it would otherwise have gone up? Is he not ashamed of that, and would not he prefer to answer questions on culture, media and sport rather than on education, the environment and health?
Mr. Smith:
We spelled out clearly during the election what we intended to do in terms of the creation of the new opportunities fund, and we have proceeded to do precisely that. We are a Government who believe in fulfilling the promises that we make to the electorate.
5. Ms Sally Keeble (Northampton, North):
What support his Department is providing for children's and youth theatre. [83412]
The Minister for the Arts (Mr. Alan Howarth):
Drama for and by children and young people receives funding provided by my Department through allocations of grant in aid to the Arts Council of England and the regional arts boards.
Ms Keeble:
Is my hon. Friend aware of the Royal, the Derngate and the Masque theatre groups in Northampton, which provide exceptional services in getting young people in my constituency involved in the theatre? Would he consider putting a requirement on the regional arts boards to provide, as part of their three-year deal, financing for new theatre groups, both those that involve young people and those that put on performances for children and young people?
Mr. Howarth:
I share my hon. Friend's enthusiasm for youth theatre. The funding agreement between the Arts Council and the regional arts boards will reflect our commitment to excellence, access and education. The Arts Council and the RABs will want to give the best support they can to youth theatre. I heard about "The Great Angels Bazaar", the Masque's successful production by children about the suffragettes. I am glad that Arts for Everyone is supporting New Perspectives' work with Masque, and that
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