Written question asked by Gareth Thomas (Labour) on Tuesday, 20 December 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 10 January 2012. It was answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative) on Wednesday, 11 January 2012 on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Works of Art

Question: (2) what estimate he has made of the number of local authorities that have undertaken an audit of the public art outdoors in their area; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: The Public Monuments and Sculpture Association, the lead body for our outdoor sculptural heritage, has received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and other organisations for their National Recording Project, which aims to make a survey of public monuments and sculpture across Britain. The database already includes more than 9,300 entries.Many local authorities own and maintain public art outdoor works and organise their own records. This Department does not hold an estimate of the number of local authorities which have undertaken an audit.

Secondary information