Orders of the Day — Public Lending Right Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 November 1978.

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Photo of Mr Roger Moate Mr Roger Moate , Faversham 12:00, 10 November 1978

I have here the final report of the Technical Investigation Group. It sets out an example of how the scheme would work per £1 million available and specifically refers to the likely benefit for a regional Welsh fiction writer. It shows the benefit as being an average of £2. As we have £2 million, let us assume—perhaps it is too big an assumption—that the benefit will be £4 per author per year. Does that not demonstrate that it will be totally useless in assisting the Welsh language? Therefore, would it not be better to concentrate on the grants about which the hon. Gentleman has been talking and to use this money for grants rather than to spread the benefit so thinly as to be absolutely useless to the people to whom he referred?