Arts Minister Michael Ellis has placed a temporary export bar on ‘A Pair of Champagne Standard Lamps’ by Salvador Dalí and Edward James to provide an opportunity to keep them in the country.

The lamps are at risk of being exported from the UK unless a buyer can be found to match the asking price of £425,000 + £15,000 VAT.

They are a collaboration between Dalí, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, and Edward James, Dalí’s patron and a keen promoter of the Surrealist movement. In the view of the Committee, the lamps were arguably the most original and important examples of modern lighting designed in the UK.

The pair are one of two designed for Monkton House, Sussex, which was built in 1902 – 03 for James’ parents and designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. It was home to the most important and influential Surrealist interior ever created in Britain.

One pair of lamps were made to flank the marble fireplace in the dining room at Monkton and would have stood adjacent to the Mae West Lips sofa, recently acquired by the V&A after a temporary export deferral was placed in November 2017.

The other pair of lamps is still owned by the Edward James Foundation.

Arts Minister Michael Ellis said:

Salvador Dalí is one of the great artistic pioneers of the 20th century. These lamps were created in the UK by Dalí and it is important that we keep them here.

I was delighted that the V&A was able to acquire the Mae West Lips sofa and I hope that we are able to find a buyer for the lamps so that they too can be saved for the nation.

The decision to defer the export licence follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA), administered by The Arts Council.

RCEWA member Richard Calvocoressi said:

The lamps are everything one would expect of Dalí. Witty, erotic – the champagne cups can be read as female breasts – the lamps are also strikingly sculptural, standing about the height of a person, with the line of vertical cups resembling a spinal column: a brilliant example of fantasy lighting.

The RCEWA made its recommendation on the grounds of the lamps’ close connection with our history and national life, their outstanding aesthetic importance and their significance for the study of furniture history, as well as the history of design and Surrealist art.

The decision on the export licence application for the lamps will be deferred until 31 August. This may be extended until 30 November if a serious intention to raise funds to purchase them is made at the recommended price of £425,000 + £15,000 VAT.

Organisations or individuals interested in purchasing the lamps should contact the RCEWA on 0845 300 6200.

An image of the lamps can be downloaded via our Flickr site.

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. Details of the lamps are as follows:
   Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) and Edward James (1907-1984)
   A pair of Champagne standard lamps
   modelled as stacked champagne glasses with tray bases decorated with ivy, some ‘glasses’ with removable half-section inserts
   gold-painted and lacquered brass
   Height: 63 in. (160 cm.)

2. Provenance:
   Made for Edward James by Green & Abbott in 1938.
   At Monkton House, West Dean Estate, West Sussex, until 1986, and then moved to West Dean House, West Sussex.
   The Edward James Foundation, West Dean, West Sussex.

3. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest is an independent body, serviced by The Arts Council, which advises the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object, intended for export, is of national importance under specified criteria.

4. The Arts Council champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. It supports a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. www.artscouncil.org.uk.

Providers will need to start reporting the number of independent medical reports for controlled work from their June 2018 submission onwards.

Why is this necessary?

We are now collecting information on the number of independent medical reports billed on each mental health controlled work claim.

The idea is to improve the quality of the data we hold in this area.

The changes will apply to all completed cases from 1 June 2018. Providers submitting claims will be asked to enter the number of independent medical reports billed.

Mandatory change

It will become mandatory to enter this information for work billed from your June 2018 submission onwards.

We have updated our ‘Guidance for reporting controlled work matters’ to reflect these changes.

You should read the mental health section of this document for further details on the information you now need to report.

We will also be publishing a new bulkload spreadsheet, as well as information on the changes that have been made to CWA to help you report this information.

Further information

CWA codes guidance – to download ‘Guidance for reporting controlled work matters’

CWA updates to reporting changes – for further guidance on the changes to CWA and bulkload spreadsheet

Alkane Energy UK Ltd has applied to the Environment Agency for an environmental permit under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 for a site at Rufford Hills Farm, off Rufford Lane, Rufford, Nottinghamshire.

As part of this exploration the company plan to carry out the drilling of a borehole to extract gas from old mine shafts.

This is a well-established technique that the company use at several sites in the area, with the gas then converted into electricity.

The Environment Agency is seeking views from the local community and interested groups on the application. The application documents have been placed online for people to view and provide comments.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency, said:

We insist that where a permit is required our standards are met and that we have evidence that the process can take place safely. We will thoroughly assess the application to ensure that people and the environment are protected.

The consultation runs from 31 May 2018 until midnight on 28 June 2018.

People now have the chance to comment on the proposals by emailing pscpublicresponse@environment-agency.gov.uk or you can post you response to:

PSC
The Land Team
Quadrant 2
99 Parkway Avenue
Sheffield
S9 4WF

New plans to stop grieving families from being ripped off have been announced today (1 June 2018). The government will consult on tougher regulation for the pre-paid funeral plan sector, and propose bringing the market into the supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

People at their most vulnerable are being pressured, harassed and misled by some pre-paid funeral plan providers, according to research conducted by Citizens Advice Scotland and Fairer Finance. Approximately 95% of the funeral plan sector is voluntarily regulated by the Funeral Planning Authority (FPA), a self-regulatory body.

The FPA does not have the power to prevent pre-paid funeral plan providers from trading, and while it does have a code of practice for its members, this code is not legally binding.

John Glen, Economic Secretary to the Treasury said:

I’m appalled by the lengths that some dishonest salesmen have gone to in order to sell a funeral plan. It breaks my heart to think that our oldest and most vulnerable are being pressured into funeral plans that leaves their grieving families out of pocket.

There are thousands of pre-paid funeral plans bought each year, and most providers are fair and legitimate. But tougher regulation will ensure robust standards are enforced for all plan providers, and protect individuals and their families if things go wrong.

Demand for funeral plans has grown significantly in recent years, with annual sales up roughly 245% between 2006 and 2017, but the regulations have remained unchanged since 2001.

James Daley, Managing Director of Fairer Finance, said:

Funeral plans are an important and valuable product, and we hope regulation of this sector will give responsible companies the chance to thrive, and give consumers the necessary reassurances they need to buy in confidence.

People who buy funeral plans are not around to measure delivery against their expectations, which is why it’s so important there are clear rules around how companies must behave. And with most plans costing over £3,000 – it’s important that customers can have total confidence that their money is safe.

In parallel to this call for evidence, the Competition and Markets Authority has launched a market study into the supply of funerals in the United Kingdom.

Further information

A funeral plan is a contract under which a customer makes one or more payments to a provider, who subsequently arranges or pays for a funeral upon the death of the customer. Providers either invest these payments in a trust fund or take out a form of insurance against the life of the customer. This enables customers to pay for a funeral in advance and safeguard against inflation.

Pre-paid funeral plans exhibit many of the characteristics of other financial services products, such as insurance products, which is why responsibility for this call for evidence is within the remit of HM Treasury.

The Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) market study will examine whether the information provided by funeral directors on prices and services is clear enough for people to be able to choose the best option for them.

It will also look at how prices have changed over time and the factors that affect them.

The average cost of a funeral was nearly £3,800 in 2017 – not counting extras that can add another £2000 to the total bill. Affordability and debt can therefore be a real concern to many people, with those on the lowest incomes potentially spending up to one third of their annual income on a funeral.

The rising level of cremation fees will be considered as part of the review, with cremations now estimated to account for around 75% of all funerals.

In parallel to the CMA’s market study, HM Treasury is launching a separate Call for Evidence on regulation in the pre-paid funerals sector. The CMA therefore does not intend to examine the pre-paid sector within its market study.

Daniel Gordon, Senior Director of Markets at the CMA, said:

People can understandably be very emotionally vulnerable when planning a funeral. We therefore think it is important that – at what can be a particularly challenging time – the process is made as easy as possible.
As part of this study, we want to ensure that people can at least receive clear information on prices and the services making up a funeral, and that people get a fair deal on the cremation fees charged.

Views are welcome on any of the issues raised in the statement of scope by the 28 June.

An interim report, presenting initial findings and views on potential remedies, will be published in 6 months, ahead of the final report in a year’s time.

If it finds issues of particular concern, the CMA could take further action, such as opening consumer or competition enforcement cases or launching a full market investigation.

Notes to Editors

1. The CMA is the UK’s primary competition and consumer authority. It is an independent non-ministerial government department with responsibility for carrying out investigations into mergers, markets and the regulated industries and enforcing competition and consumer law.

2. Market studies may lead to a range of outcomes, including:
   • clean bill of health
   • actions which improve the quality and accessibility of information to consumers
   • taking consumer or competition law enforcement action
   • making recommendations to the government to change regulations or public policy
   • encouraging businesses in the market to self-regulate
   • making a reference for a more in-depth (phase 2) market investigation, or
   • accepting formal undertakings in lieu of a reference

3. The UK funerals market is estimated to be worth over £2 billion a year. The CMA estimates that there are around 5,000 funeral director branches and 294 crematoria currently in operation in the UK. 106 crematoria are privately operated and the remainder are owned and operated by local authorities.

4. The Royal London National Funeral Cost Index 2017 reports that the average cost of a funeral in 2017 was £3,784.