Tourism (Hansard, 7 May 1991)

§ 3. Mr. Fearn
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he last met the chairman of the National Trust to discuss tourism.

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment (Mr. Eric Forth)
My right hon. and learned Friend has not met the newly appointed chairman of the National Trust to discuss tourism. He has, however, met the trust's director general in the context of the tourism and environment initiative mounted by my Department and the English tourist board.

§ Mr. Fearn
Is the Minister aware that this year the National Trust, with its parks, gardens and houses, has given the tourist industry one of the biggest boosts that it has ever had? As the National Trust's conservation and maintenance costs have risen and its agricultural revenue and Government grant have fallen by £1 million, is there any help that the Government can give?

§ Mr. Forth
I would join the hon. Gentleman, as I am sure would every hon. Member, in his admiration and praise for the work that the National Trust does, has done in the past and will continue to do. As the hon. Gentleman no doubt knows, my colleagues in the Department of the Environment are funding the National Trust to the tune of some £800,000 in the current year. As with many other good causes, one could always make a case for more funding, but the hon. Gentleman has put his finger on the real point, which is that the National Trust is perhaps 609 uniquely placed to raise a lot of revenue from those who support it and its activities. That it is doing and will continue to do, and I believe that that is the direction for the future.

§ Mr. Simon Coombs
Will my hon. Friend take this opportunity to congratulate the National Trust on its important contribution to the recently published report on tourism and the environment? What steps do the Government intend to take to ensure that the many excellent recommendations in that report are put into practice in future?

§ Mr. Forth
Indeed, the National Trust played a key part in that exercise, of which my Department was rather proud, because we felt that we identified early on the creative tension which exists between environmental matters and the demands of tourism. In that report which was published on 1 May, we identified recommendations such as wider dissemination and application of visitor management techniques and a partnership approach well exemplifed by the role of the National Trust. As my hon. Friend would expect, we shall be carrying that forward in order to ensure that the jobs and benefits of tourism do not run counter to the requirements of the environment.

§ Mr. Skinner
Have the 70 paintings and the 22 pieces of silver that finished up at No. 10 Downing street when the previous Prime Minister was in office, many of which were taken from National Trust homes, now been restored to their rightful places? If not, it is high time they were.

§ Mr. Forth
For a moment, I thought that the hon. Gentleman was harking back to the days of the Greater London council when he spoke about the missing silver, but in fact the hon. Gentleman was reminding the House of the respect and regard my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley (Mrs. Thatcher) has for the national heritage and the fact that, as one would have expected, she was keen to ensure that our national heritage was well represented at No. 10 Downing street. Anyone who believed otherwise could only be in the same carping mode as I am afraid we find the hon. Gentleman.