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Ticket Prices
4. Mr. Gareth R. Thomas (Harrow, West): What account his Department takes of the range of ticket prices for theatre, opera and ballet in London in its funding policies. [98970]
The Minister for the Arts (Mr. Alan Howarth): The Government want to ensure that everyone in England has an opportunity to experience the superb range of arts that we have in this country. With the Arts Council of England and the London Arts Board, we encourage companies in
London to ensure the widest possible access to performances, including through-ticket pricing, touring and promotional activity.
Mr. Thomas: I am grateful for that reply, and hope that my hon. Friend will now make it a priority to introduce a strategy genuinely to deliver cheaper and increased access to the arts for those on low incomes. Does he agree that if Michael Portillo is elected this week, Labour Members will have excellent access to ringside seats for yet another Tory party performance of "Julius Caesar"?
Mr. Howarth: Our policy is to balance excellence with access, and we write those objectives into the funding agreements that we negotiate with the bodies that we fund. Those objectives are further expressed in the funding agreements negotiated between funding councils and the bodies that they fund.
On my hon. Friend's tempting point, I simply say that, after Michael Portillo has--unfortunately for him--been unsuccessful in his campaign in Kensington, he will probably have more time to enjoy the remarkable performances that will be available from next week at the Royal Opera house, and at prices that he will be able to afford.
Mr. John Randall (Uxbridge):
I am sure that the Minister will join me in congratulating the Royal Opera house on allowing disabled people to take full advantage of the full range of ticket prices. However, is it not a shame that, although good access will be provided for disabled people within the opera house, there is no provision for parking outside the opera house? Is there anything that the Department can do about that?
Mr. Howarth:
I appreciate that the hon. Gentleman expresses that concern. I am quite certain that, when we have a new Labour mayor for London, with his responsibilities for transport, he will be concerned to ensure that parking arrangements and facilities not only at the Royal Opera house, but at all theatres and cultural venues, will be such as to better assist disabled people to have access to those cultural activities.
Ms Claire Ward (Watford):
Does my hon. Friend agree that increasing access is not only about charging cheaper prices for tickets to places such as the Royal Opera house, but about changing cultural attitudes, particularly among young people and children? Would not such change be in line with the Government's policy to make such access available to the many, not only the few?
Mr. Howarth:
Of course, my hon. Friend is right. Access is not only about ticket prices, but about outreach policies and education policies, and finding imaginative ways of encouraging people who have not hitherto perceived themselves as the types of people who might go to the opera, theatre, museums or galleries to begin to realise that that is their entitlement and a source of enormous pleasure to them.
The balance between excellence and access will be magnificently exemplified at the Royal Opera house--which is about to reopen with a clean balance sheet, its new theatre the best in the world for opera and ballet, a full programme of the highest artistic quality, and its productions accessible to people as they never were in the
past. Ticket prices for ballet will begin at £2 and for opera at £6. I very warmly congratulate Sir Colin Southgate, Michael Kaiser and all those who have contributed to the renaissance at the Royal Opera house.
5. Mrs. Jacqui Lait (Beckenham):
What assessment he has made of funding levels for the arts in Britain since May 1997. [98971]
The Minister for the Arts (Mr. Alan Howarth):
The Government have made available an additional £125 million to the arts over this and the next two years. That is a step change in funding for the arts in this country.
Mrs. Lait:
I am grateful to the Minister for that reply. However, if that sum is so generous, why is it that everyone I meet in the arts feels let down by the Government? Is it because they were led to believe that they would receive £290 million, rather than £125 million? Is it also because they feel cheated by the raid on the lottery for money that should have gone to the arts, but is being used for social programmes?
Mr. Howarth:
I do not know to whom the hon. Lady has been talking, but I believe that a new and very positive atmosphere surrounds the arts in this country. It is very much to do with my right hon. Friend's success in securing the best ever arts funding settlement, and also with the fact that we have a policy. The Conservative party has no policy--it does not believe that it should because, deep down, it does not really believe in Government responsibility for the arts. We do, and our policy is to promote excellence and access, to ensure that education plays its full part in support of the arts--and vice versa--and that we support the creative economy. There is extensive recognition and appreciation of that among people who care about the arts in Britain.
Mr. John Cryer (Hornchurch):
Will my hon. Friend bear in mind the example of the Queen's theatre in Hornchurch when it comes to funding? It is one of the most successful theatres of its type in Britain, and has had an enormous increase in audiences of about 90 per cent. over the past two years. Will my hon. Friend try to bring pressure to bear on the chair of the London Arts Board--one Trevor Phillips--to ensure that in future the Queen's theatre's plea for regular funding is not brushed aside but taken seriously?
Mr. Howarth:
There has been an extensive increase in funding for the London Arts Board of about 10 per cent. It will, I trust, give the board some margin with which to respond to what my hon. Friend very understandably calls for. Moreover, we have asked the Arts Council to conduct a review of the condition of theatre in the country at large, and it has willingly agreed to do so. I do not doubt that the issues surrounding the Queen's theatre will be characteristic of those that it will examine.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley (South-West Surrey):
When Trevor Phillips is able to identify the extraordinary developments in the arts in London that have been achieved as a result of the lottery, he may also be able to
Mr. Howarth:
The right hon. Lady's mathematics is surreal. We have committed one sixth of the proceeds of the lottery to the arts, with a guarantee that that amount will be provided for the arts for the whole of the next 10 years and beyond. The arts, heritage, sport and charity sectors can each count on £1.9 billion in the present licence period--that is £100 million more than the right hon. Lady's Government forecast.
6. Mr. Peter L. Pike (Burnley):
What recent discussions he has had with the football authorities about the world cup 2006 bid. [98972]
The Minister for Sport (Kate Hoey):
The Government are providing the fullest support for the Football Association's bid, and will continue to do so between now and the decision by the FIFA executive committee next July. It is an excellent bid, and discussions with the footballing authorities are on-going.
Mr. Pike:
Is it not a fact that the Government's 100 per cent. support for the bid, in accordance with the manifesto commitment, has played a significant part in the way in which the bid is proceeding? How does my hon. Friend assess the visit of the FIFA inspection team which I believe was here last month?
Kate Hoey:
The FIFA delegates who visited England last month to inspect the facilities pronounced themselves satisfied with all that they had seen, and described England's bid and its stadiums as outstanding. Whether I can assess how likely we are to be successful is another matter. Certainly, we have an excellent bid, and FIFA's technical inspectors have said so.
Mr. Nick Hawkins (Surrey Heath):
The Minister will know that all of us who are interested in sport, from all parties, are committed to supporting the 2006 bid, and have fully supported it in this House and elsewhere. However, does she accept that there is a problem regarding Wembley's involvement in that bid? Although we recognise that the new Wembley will be a vital part of a successful bid, there appears to be considerable confusion over the suitability of the newly redesigned Wembley for athletics as well, a factor that will also be relevant to the 2012 Olympic games bid.
Can the hon. Lady confirm that her predecessor, the hon. Member for West Ham (Mr. Banks), should have been aware of the athletics concerns way back in the early stages of the Wembley redesign, as this is not a new issue? Will she confirm that although we want both bids to succeed, it is important not to jeopardise the bid for the 2012 olympics and the concerns about athletics while
trying to win the 2006 bid? As the hon. Lady put it, she cannot redesign the project, but she was quoted in the papers as saying that she would if she could.
Kate Hoey:
The hon. Gentleman is right to point out that we await the independent report commissioned by the United Kingdom Sports Council on suggestions for designs that would put Wembley in the running for the Olympic games in 2012 or 2016. We shall receive the report within a week to 10 days and shall report to the House when we have considered it.
Mr. Joe Ashton (Bassetlaw):
Is my hon. Friend aware that for 70 years, football fans at Wembley have been 60 yd from the goal if they are sitting behind it? As 95 per cent. of the revenue for running costs of the new stadium will come from football, not athletics, it would be disastrous if that mistake were repeated. Surely the Olympic games will come to the UK only once every 50 years, and will be attended by 80,000 only on the opening day. The proposed design of Wembley with a capacity of 67,000 would be ample for athletics. Is it not time that the football fans who go to Wembley, and who pay for the stadium to be run and maintained, have a decent view?
Kate Hoey:
I am convinced that the new Wembley will give all football supporters a wonderful view. It will be a stadium that we can all be proud of. We want to be sure, however, that it is a national stadium, and that it will be possible both to hold the world championships there in 2005 and to consider the possibility of a later Olympic games bid. That is why we have commissioned the independent report, which will shortly be with us. I assure my hon. Friend that all football supporters who go to the new Wembley will be able to enjoy a world-class stadium.
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