To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the extension of artist's resale rights is a mandatory European Union requirement; whether the proposal has been subject to full independent review and the outcome of that review published; what submissions they have made in connection with protecting the position of the United Kingdom art market; and whether these submissions have been published.

The extension, in 2012, of the artist's resale right (ARR) to the sales of qualifying works by deceased artists in the UK is a requirement of directive 2001/84/EC.

The effect of ARR in the UK, and an assessment of the impact arising from extension of the right to cover deceased artists, was considered in the independent report carried out on behalf of the Government by Professor Szymanski and published in January 2008.

On behalf of the current administration, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) submitted a response to the Commission's call for evidence that was carried out as part of their ongoing review of the directive. The IPO response is available online: www.ipo.gov.uk/c-policy-artist-response.pdf.