Written question asked by Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 3 December 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 16 December 2003. It was answered by Hilary Benn (Labour) on Tuesday, 16 December 2003 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Dept for International Development

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much his Department has spent on the acquisition of works of art in each year since 1997, broken down by amounts spent on (a) paintings and (b) sculpture; what the single most expensive piece of art purchased by his Department since 1997 was; how much it cost; and what the total revenue raised by his Department through sales of its works of art has been since 1997.

Answer: Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent on the acquisition of works of art in each year since 1997, broken down by amounts spent on (a) paintings and (b) sculpture; what the single most expensive piece of art purchased by his Department since 1997 was; how much it cost; and what the total revenue raised by his Department through sales of its works of art has been since 1997. [142369] Hilary Benn: DFID has not spent any funds on the acquisition of works of art since 1997. All works of art in our UK offices are on loan from the Government Art Collection. Most DFID offices overseas have some low value works of art that have been purchased locally, but we have no central records, and the information could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 142369; 415 c829W
Session: 2003-04
Subjects: Artworks Department for International Development Expenditure Government departments Sales Sculpture Paintings
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk