Written question asked by Lord Morris of Manchester (Labour), in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 26 November 1996. It was answered by Iain Sproat (Conservative) on Tuesday, 26 November 1996 on behalf of the Department of National Heritage.

Dept of National Heritage

Question: What recent representations she has received from the British Youth Opera; what reply she is sending; what action she is taking. (Holding answer 13 November 1996).

Answer: Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what recent representations she has received from the British Youth Opera; what reply she is sending; what action she is taking; and if she will make a statement. [3796] Mr. Sproat: [holding answer 13 November 1996]: My right hon. Friend has received one recent representation from the British Youth Opera expressing concern about the level of public funding it receives, to which she has sent a reply. Ministers set the overall framework for funding of the arts, but decisions on the distribution of funding, whether they concern the balance of funding between art forms or the allocation of grants to individual arts organisations, are taken by the Arts Council and 10 regional arts boards without the involvement of Ministers. My right hon. Friend has drawn the correspondence to the attention of the chairman of the Arts Council of England.

Secondary information