asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that contemporary works of art can be brought into this country only under import licence; that such licence is in fact rarely granted and, consequently, seldom applied for; and whether he will, take steps to remove this virtual embargo

Works of art may be imported only under licence, and import licences are, in general, granted only against an undertaking to re-export all the imports within a reasonable period. For balance of payments reasons, it is not at present possible to modify this policy.

Will my hon. Friend explain what is the logic which prevents the importation of pictures at negligible cost primarily from soft currency areas, but allows the importation of moving pictures from hard currency areas to the tune of nearly £20,000,000?

That seems to be getting rather a long way from the original Question, and raises an issue of general policy for which I am not responsible. I would point out that there is a nondiscriminatory obligation on our part which makes it difficult for us to licence importation of works of art coming from soft currency areas.

Is my hon. Friend aware that I was not suggesting there should be discriminatory importation, but that, if there were completely non-discriminatory importation, the drain on our resources would be negligible—perhaps a mere £20,000 or £30,000?

Can the Parliamentary Secretary tell us what is the estimated saving? Surely, it is undesirable to prevent works of art moving about the world?

We do not stop works of art moving about the world if they are imported to this country and subsequently exported. I should have thought it was obvious that in our present currency circumstances it is essential, however much we value works of art, to carry out our obligation of buying food for our people

Will the Parliamentary Secretary explain why it is all right in certain circumstances to import American motor cars, but wrong to import works of art?

Will my hon. Friend at least give an undertaking that he will recon- sider this matter and make a further statement to the House?

The matter is not one for general consideration, but for consideration of each case on its merits.

In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I am very sorry that I must raise the matter again on the Adjournment.