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The Parties' Stance on the Arts: the Liberal Democratic Party (LibDems)
Liberal Democrats will:
- Place the arts at the heart of school education
- Support community sports plans
- Promote diversity in culture, the arts and sport
Recent governments have not given the arts and sport the priority which they deserve. Our goal is to make a substantial increase in investment in the arts to enhance public access, performance opportunities and artistic innovation.
We will:
- Give all pupils an entitlement to arts education throughout their
school careers. We will recruit and train more specialist art teachers
and ensure that all primary teachers are well trained in the arts.
We will restore funding for free instrumental tuition to at least
1990 levels, giving many more pupils the chance to learn an instrument
once again. Protect our cultural heritage by lowering the cost of
maintaining listed buildings. We will do this by cutting VAT on renovation
and repairs, paid for by introducing VAT, at the same low level, on
new building.
- Encourage artists and artistic diversity. We will support artists
by maintaining the support provided by Schedule D taxation. We will
establish a fund to bring artists to schools, hospitals and prisons.
- Increase the powers of Regional Arts Boards. We will devolve all
funding decisions except those involving national companies from the
Department of Culture, Media and Sport to the Regional Arts Boards.
- Develop the use of libraries by making them centres for free internet
access.
- Invest in local libraries, arts and museums by replacing the Millennium
Commission with a Local Initiatives Fund which would give grants to
support libraries, museums and galleries in communities across Britain.
We will restore the principle that Lottery cash should not fund services
more properly provided through taxation, and ensure that all Lottery
money goes to the arts, charity, sport, heritage and local cultural
institutions.
- Streamline government involvement in the arts by abolishing QUEST
(Quality, Efficiency and Standards Team).
- Reduce interference by central government in culture and arts by
decentralising decision-making powers and funding in England in order
to promote community involvement in the arts. We will also protect
the independence of trustees of museums and galleries.
- Remove the anomaly of Home Office regulation of film and video.
We will pass this responsibility to the Department of Culture, Media
and Sport which oversees all creative industries.
The Conservative Party
The Green Party
The Labour Party
The Liberal Party
The Liberal Democratic Party
The Monster Raving Loony Party
A brief introduction to the British political
scene
Articles Indices:
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
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