House of Lords
Wednesday, 27th February 2002.
The House met at half-past two of the clock: The LORD CHANCELLOR on the Woolsack.
Prayers—Read by the Lord Bishop of Guildford.
Violence and Terrorism
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
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What conclusions they draw from the day of united prayer for peace, held by the leaders of world-wide faiths in Assisi, Italy, on 24th January, and in particular their declaration renouncing the use of violence.
Lord Hylton: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply, even if he is not personally responsible for the issue raised in the Question. Will he take matters a step further by asking his right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary to ask British missions overseas to seek and positively encourage inter-religious co-operation, particularly in the conflict areas of the world?
Lord Rooker: My Lords, the Foreign Secretary works through the embassies and the diplomatic corps. To be honest, we are being asked to tread in muddy waters. We have made it abundantly clear that we want peace and tolerance and everybody—of whatever faith or of none—to be treated equally.
Lord Campbell of Croy: My Lords, did the leaders of faiths in Northern Ireland take part in the day of prayer? If so, did they also subscribe to the renunciation of violence?
Lord Rooker: My Lords, I am not responsible for listing the participants in the private operation referred to in the Question. It has nothing to do with the Government. The Government were not represented and it is not for me to publish a list of those participating or to discuss that matter in the House.
Baroness Williams of Crosby: My Lords, I appreciate the Minister's reply, but will he consider
that possibly the most dangerous situation in the world at the moment is the Middle East? If he reads the declaration, he will find that the leaders of the Islamic faith, the Jewish faith and the Christian faith have all said that they would welcome frank and peaceful dialogue over the troubling issues of Israel and Palestine. Will he suggest to the Foreign Secretary that this is an issue that might well be built upon, given that those spiritual leaders have great influence, not least in that very troubled part of the world?
Lord Rooker: My Lords, I am happy to draw these exchanges to the attention of the Foreign Secretary. The whole point of the process is getting people to talk, not fight each other, as a way of finding solutions to the world's problems.
The Lord Bishop of Guildford: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for his reply to the important Question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Hylton. Is he aware of how many important dialogues and encounters are taking place in our country and across the world and of the very important role that religions play in peace-building and culture-forming? For example, following on what the noble Baroness, Lady Williams, said, the Archbishop of Canterbury called an important inter-faith meeting in the Middle East recently, which led to the Alexandria declaration among Jewish, Islamic and Christian leaders. Will the Government assure us of their encouragement of the faith communities in those dialogues, which have a significant impact on the peace-making movement?
Lord Rooker: Of course, my Lords. As I said in my original Answer, some people use their religion as a means of waging war and intolerance on their fellow human beings. That is to be condemned. It is also true that people of faith do not have a monopoly on peace and tolerance. We want everybody to be involved in dialogue. To that extent, we shall do what we can to encourage everybody of whatever faith from whatever part of the world to talk to each other as a way of finding solutions to problems rather than going to war.
Lord Campbell of Alloway: My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that the attitude of the Government, as explained by him, appears to some of us to be totally appropriate?
Lord Rooker: My Lords, as that was not a question, there is no answer to it.
Regional Museums
2.40 p.m.
Baroness Lockwood asked Her Majesty's Government:
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What plans they have to implement the recommendations in the report Renaissance in the Regions: The Future of England's Regional Museums by the Regional Museums Task Force.
Baroness Lockwood: My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that encouraging response. Does she appreciate how vital it is that there is adequate funding for the successful implementation of the report? Is she aware that there is a great body of hope and support throughout the country behind a request for additional funding, on which I hope she might draw, where appropriate, in submitting the strongest possible bid for the necessary funding for the implementation of the report? How much flexibility will there be in the regions to allow the current area museums councils or their successors to retain the hands-on assistance that they are giving to the museums, especially the small museums, which may not become a part of the regional hub?
Baroness Blackstone: My Lords, I shall deal first with my noble friend's third question. She is absolutely right to draw attention to the excellent work done by the area museums councils. I can reassure her that the very important services they provide, especially to small museums that need this type of help and support, will not be lost when the new arrangements with regional hubs are introduced. Indeed, I believe that some of the services that have been dropped and have disappeared may return when the Resource report recommendations are implemented. Incidentally, over the next two years, Resource will provide more money—funding is being doubled—for those services.
As for my noble friend's first question, if hope and support from across the country can get us the extra money, we shall draw on both the hope and the support that are being provided.
Lord Pilkington of Oxenford: My Lords, has the Minister given any thought to the position of university museums, such as the Ashmolean and the Fitzwilliam, which, unlike national museums, are not exempt from VAT? They are great museums. Will she give thought to exempting them from VAT?
Baroness Blackstone: My Lords, the university museums are of course great museums with wonderful collections, and the Government very much support the work that universities do in making those collections available. What I cannot do is give the noble Lord any assurance that VAT can be removed in relation to those museums. The Government took a decision to remove the requirement to pay VAT from
the national museums for which they are directly responsible. What I can say, however, is that the university museums will be very much part of the reform programme to be introduced following the Resource report. I am hoping that they will play a part in the development of regional hubs.
Lord Redesdale: My Lords, will the Department for Culture, Media and Sport examine the role of conservators? The current shortage of posts, and reduction in the number of posts, is leading to a crisis in the profession. That state of affairs will also have a detrimental impact on many of the artefacts in the museums' care.
Baroness Blackstone: My Lords, the role of conservators is enormously important in all of our museums. It is important that that role should be protected and that we recruit enough people to play that role. I hope that when Resource's recommendations are implemented, and if there is further funding particularly for our regional and local museums, that role will be not only protected but enhanced.
Baroness David: My Lords, considering the contribution that museums make to the education service at all levels, but particularly at the primary level, can the Minister tell me what co-operation there is between her department and the Department for Education and Skills? Does she think that there will be an extension of that work under the new proposals? Can she say what that might entail?
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