Artist’s Resale Right Regulations

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his introduction of the regulations and the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, for giving us the opportunity to debate these regulations so vigorously. I and my honourable friends in another place have considered very carefully the various reports, including that of a Select Committee of the other place, the Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee and, most recently, the report of the London Assembly Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism Committee. We have held meetings with representatives of the British Art Market Federation and DACS. Despite the vigorous arguments put forward by BAMF, we have come to the conclusion that the Government’s approach is correct and that the €1,000 threshold set out in the regulations is right, as is the decision to require collection by collection societies. That is the conclusion that the Culture, Media and Sport Committee came to last year, and we have reached it because of very similar motives. We on these Benches are not great fans of the resale right; we believe that it is an extremely blunt instrument, for many of the reasons put forward today. The original reservations of the noble Lord, Lord Freyberg, were entirely correct. However, on the basis that it is a fait accompli in EU terms, it is important that it benefits young, newly emerging artists and not simply established or better known ones—or, indeed, their heirs. At the €1,000 level, it is estimated that some 50 per cent of living artists will benefit. This is where I am at variance with the figures put forward by the noble Lord, Lord Brooke.