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Entertainment: Facilities

My Lords, nobody is better placed or equipped to introduce a debate relating to theatres than my noble friend Lord Lloyd-Webber. It has been made quite clear that his experience and background goes well beyond the West End. I have absolutely no difficulty in endorsing everything that he said. Indeed, I listened entranced to his comments about the various theatres which he so clearly loves—in particular, perhaps, the Palace. The difficulties for all historic buildings which are open to the public, of both conserving and, simultaneously, updating them, are nowhere more evident than in the theatres he described. The starting point of this debate is the value and importance of the London theatres to the image of London as a world-renowned centre of culture and entertainment and a vital part of our tourist industry, as the noble Baroness, Lady Valentine, has pointed out. Looking forward, I can also see that the objective of an Olympiad of culture alongside the Olympic Games also gives the opportunity for fresh thought and action to preserve and extend the value of what we have so fortunately inherited. Clearly, London’s monuments, museums, art galleries, opera, ballet and theatres all have to be included in the concept of an Olympiad of culture, but this debate gives us the opportunity to focus on the theatre and a specific issue: how best to modernise buildings and tie in health and safety requirements and regulation, as well as additional comfort, with the planning constraints on listed buildings. I thank my noble friend for giving us this opportunity. Nevertheless, apart from my noble friend Lord Lloyd-Webber himself, a great champion, others’ voices can be heard. Kevin Spacey is doing a terrific job at the Old Vic. Also, organisations such as English Heritage are very much involved. I understand that it is currently funding work on a publication designed to provide clear and consistent advice to those engaged in making physical changes to the heritage assets we are talking about. The need to balance the special architectural and historic interests of listed theatres with expectations and standards which, as has been said, are very different today from when the majority of theatres were constructed, is evident. The effect of this consideration has been seen in major projects such as the Royal Albert Hall and the London Coliseum, but I understand that English Heritage also devotes considerable resources to more modest projects, such as the sub-division of the Whitehall Theatre and the restoration of both the Theatre Royal and the Savoy Theatre. So three cheers for English Heritage—as well as the Theatres Trust, which has a statutory role in promoting the better protection of theatres on behalf of the nation and does much valuable work. However, the issue on which I once again press the Government is value added tax. It seems absurd that new build is exempted from VAT—or zero-rated—but the maintenance and restoration of beautiful and historic buildings is not. Can the Minister give us any hope on this? Before I am told that it is a matter for Brussels and not the Treasury, I recently visited the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza and, somehow or other, the Italian Government seem to get around the rule, if there is one. Indeed, the Government have provided a partial exemption for historic churches, so why not for historic theatres too? Further, can the Minister give any indication of whether the Government’s Heritage Protection Bill, which has just been published and is currently undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny, will contain any provisions to help the owners of historic theatres to overcome some of the difficulties that we have heard about, and provide modern facilities, both for theatre-goers and the actors and artists who give us so much pleasure and entertainment? I look forward to the Minister’s reply.