Written question asked by Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party) on Monday, 16 April 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 18 April 2012. It was answered by Lord Robathan (Conservative) on Monday, 30 April 2012 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Art Works

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the total value of his Department's artwork and historical artefacts located in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) overseas.

Answer: Artworks and antiques owned by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in the MOD Art Collection are classed as non-operational heritage assets in the departmental resource accounts. The MOD Art Collection is managed in line with professional guidelines as laid out by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Government Art Collection (GAC).Following the practice of the GAC, no estimate is maintained for the total value of artwork and antiques in the MOD Art Collection. There would be a high cost associated with maintaining a current valuation of the collection that would outweigh the value of holding the information.

Secondary information