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Pharmaceutical Companies: Ministerial Code
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether any members of the Government have declared shareholdings or other financial links, either personally or through close family members, with pharmaceutical companies; and, if so, which Ministers have made such declarations and with which companies.
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: There is no central list of the financial interests of Ministers and their close family members but paragraphs 109-129 of the Ministerial Code require Ministers to ensure that there is no conflict of interests between their public duties
and their private interests. This includes not only Ministers' personal interests but those of spouse, partner and children who are minors.Proposed Freedom of Information Act: Fees and Charges
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they intend that members of the public will have to pay the cost of photocopying documents when exercising their right of access to information under the proposed Freedom of Information Act; and if so, how such charges are to be calculated and regulated to ensure that they are no more than is appropriate and necessary.
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The White Paper Your Right to Know (Cm 3818) sets out in paragraphs 2.28 to 2.34 the Government's proposals for fees and charges under the proposed Freedom of Information Act. These include the requirement that any charges should reflect only reasonable costs; and that applicants for information would have a right of appeal to the proposed information commissioner about the level of charges made.
Parliamentary Copyright
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they would support a review of the management of parliamentary copyright in the light of their current review of the management of Crown copyright.
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The responsibility for the management of parliamentary copyright rests with Parliament. A review of parliamentary copyright is, therefore, entirely a matter for senior parliamentary officials.
Museums: Charges and Grants
Lord Freyberg asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What was the admission charge for (a) the Natural History Museum (b) the Imperial War Museum at Lambeth Road (c) the National Maritime Museum (d) the Royal Air Force Museum (e) the Science Museum in London (f) the Victoria and Albert Museum (g) the National Museum and Galleries, Cardiff and (h) the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum when voluntary and compulsory charges were introduced; what it is now; and what is the percentage change of the charges since the introduction of admission charges.
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The information is given in the following table.
| Full adult admission charge at introduction | Year of introduction | Full adult admission charge now | Percentage rise | |
| Natural History Museum(10) | £1 and £2 | 1987 | £6 | |
| Imperial War Museum(11) | £2.50 | 1989 | £4.70 | 88 |
| National Maritime Museum | £1.50 | 1984 | £5 | 233 |
| Royal Air Force Museum(12) | £3 | 1988 | £5.85 | 95 |
| Science Museum(13) | £2 | 1988 | £5.95 | 198 |
| Victoria and Albert Museum(14) | £5 | 1996 | £5 | 0 |
| National Museum & Galleries, Cardiff | £1 | 1988 | £3.25 | 225 |
| Ulster Folk and Transport Museum(15) | £0.15 | 1964 | £4 | 2,567 |
(10) The Natural History museum initially operated differential charging regimes on two sites in 1987. A percentage comparison is therefore omitted.
(11) The figures are for the Lambeth Road site.
(12) The figures are for the Hendon site.
(13) The figures are for the South Kensington site.
(14) The Victoria and Albert Museum initially operated a suggested voluntary donation of £2 in 1995, which rose to £4.50 in 1996.
A compulsory charge was introduced in 1996.
(15) The figure quoted is for 1971. Although the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum began charging in 1964, figures for that year are not available.
The prices quoted do not take inflation into account and represent the full single adult price. All museums operate generous concessionary pricing regimes and the majority of visitors do not pay the full price. Many gain free admission. Concessionary regimes differ from institution to institution and detailed comparisons would need to take this into account.
Lord Freyberg asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Admission charges are a matter for the trustees of each institution.
The Earl of Clancarty asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The effects of both introducing and lifting admission charges have to some extent already been examined by the research carried out for the Museums and Galleries Commission.
The effects of charging on access cannot be viewed in isolation. Other barriers to access such as opening hours, presentation and the cost of travel must be taken into account.
The Earl of Clancarty asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Initial figures from the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside for the months of July and August 1997 showed a 2 per cent. increase in visitor numbers over the same months in the previous year. There are also indications that repeat visits to the same museum, and visits to more than one museum, have risen since the introduction of a charge for an annual ticket. However, the latest figures, for the four months July-October 1997, show a 6 per cent. drop in visitors compared with the same months in 1996. Data over a longer period are required before reliable inferences can be made.
Earl Russell asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Allocation of the British Library's resources is a matter for the British Library Board in the light of its various priorities. The board is currently reviewing its budgets for 1998-99, including its acquisitions budget, in light of the Government's announcement of grant-in-aid for the year and will submit its 1998-99 Business Plan to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport by the end of February 1998.
The Earl of Clancarty asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The information is given in the following table.
Grant per admission in 1996-97
Visitor numbers for non-charging museums are often based on counting methods which are prone to error. They may over-estimate the true number of visitors by a significant amount. Comparisons between charging and non-charging museums therefore need to be treated with caution.
In some cases the figures include visits to outstations museums as well as to main sites. No distinction is made at the Tower of London between visitors to the Royal Armouries exhibition and visitors to the rest of the Tower.
The Royal Air Force Museum and National Army Museum are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence, not by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Whether there is any correlation between the reduction in Treasury grants to national museums and the increase in admission charges at those museums that charge them.
Further to the research carried out by the Museums and Galleries Commission into admission charges, whether they will carry out research into the effects on access, including effects at a national level and on local people and artists of (a) the levying of charges by public museums and galleries in the United Kingdom for admission to the permanent collections; and (b) the lifting of charges in those museums where this has occurred.
What is the statistical or other evidence used as the basis for Lord McIntosh of Haringey's remark in the House on 20 November that "there is evidence in Merseyside that customers have not been deterred by the [national museum] charges that were introduced in July [1997]" (HL Deb, col. 653).
What is the British Library's budget for the purchase of manuscript collections for the financial year 1998-99.
What was the central government grant per admission in the year 1996-97 for each of (a) British Museum (b) National Gallery (c) Tate Gallery (d) National Portrait Gallery (e) Wallace Collection (f) National Army Museum (g) Royal Armouries (h) National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside (i) Imperial War Museum (j) National History Museum (k) Science Museum in London (l) Victoria and Albert Museum (m) National Maritime Museum (n) Royal Air Force Museum.
Museum £
British Museum 4.87
National Gallery 3.75
Tate Gallery 7.57
National Portrait Gallery 5.73
Wallace Collection 10.34
National Army Museum 19.45
Royal Armouries 1.21
National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside 10.85
Imperial War Museum 8.23
Natural History Museum 15.25
Science Museum 8.13
Victoria and Albert Museum 19.29
National Maritime Museum 22.54
Royal Air Force Museum 23.21
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