§ 2.41 p.m.
§ Lord MerrivaleMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they are prepared to give to the government of Gibraltar in the further development of their tourist industry.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Young)My Lords, the current aid programme of £13 million for Gibraltar extends to 1986. Certain of the projects are particularly relevant to enhancing Gibraltar's tourist potential, notably the improvements to water and electricity supply and access for liner passengers to the city. The Government of Gibraltar attach great importance to tourism and are financing a major programme of improvements from their own resources.
§ Lord MerrivaleMy Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for that reply. Would she agree that there is a strong case for assisting the Gibraltar Government to be in a position to exploit fully the historical and unique features of the Rock, for sand, sea and sun are also readily available along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts? Has her attention been drawn to the 1982 report called Save Gibraltar's Heritage, written by Marcus Binney and others, for I think it is worth studying? Apart from that, there is the aspect of developing the historical and unique features of Gibraltar, which I should have thought are worthy of deep consideration.
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, as I indicated in my original Answer, a considerable part of the current £ 13 million aid programme is going to projects which will help tourism in Gibraltar. The Gibraltar Government themselves have committed £332,000 of local funds for tourist-related projects. They are giving first 1105 priority to improving the general environmental structure. They have also decided to appoint a contract officer as director of tourism for a period of three years.
§ Lord Cledwyn of PenrhosMy Lords, while I welcome the resumption of normal relations which is shortly to take place, can the noble Baroness say whether the Government have made any assessment of the disadvantages which will accompany the resumption of relations? For example, what is the calculation of the number of Spaniards who could then come over to find work, given that unemployment is very much higher on the Spanish side than it is on the Gibraltar side? Also what will be the results of the commercialisation of the dockyard? Is it not the case that all these factors will create special problems for Gibraltar? Is it not important, therefore, to give added incentives to those who are seeking to encourage the tourist trade? Is it not the case that the amount of money which the noble Baroness has mentioned—£13 million—is totally inadequate to meet the needs that will arise?
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, on the point about the dockyard, I can assure the noble Lord that we are providing £28 million capital aid for the conversion and £14 million for work on contracts for refits of the Royal Fleet auxiliary vessels over the next three years. In addition to this, our current aid programme of £13 million continues until 1986 and it will not be affected by the opening of the frontier. The noble Lord also asked me about the possibility of workers from Spain coming to Gibraltar. On Spain's accession to the Communty the transitional arrangements that would apply to any country entering the Community would apply in this case to Gibraltar.
§ Lord Boyd-CarpenterMy Lords, will my noble friend bear in mind that one of the best ways of helping the tourist business in Gibraltar would be to improve the airport, in particular by lengthening the runway, and that Her Majesty's Government's intervention will be required for that, not only for financial reasons but also to clear with Spain the consequential use of Spanish air space?
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, I note what my noble friend Lord Boyd-Carpenter has said on this matter. As he knows, as I responded to a question on this same matter last week, so far as air space in the region of Gibraltar is concerned the Spanish Government have undertaken any early actions necessary to allow safe and effective air communication.
§ Lord KilmarnockMy Lords—
Lord Wallace of CoslanyMy Lords, I have risen twice. Is the noble Baroness aware that late last night I returned from a very intensive visit to Gibraltar? I am wearing a badge which says:
I am proud of Gib. Support tourism".I have a badge which I shall give the noble Baroness later. Is she further aware that with the opening of the frontier this question of facilities for tourism is one of 1106 extreme urgency? I agree with noble Lords who have spoken about air transport. Is she aware that there is insufficient air communication and that I understand that so far there has been no real response to representations? Furthermore, is she aware that some hotels are on the verge of bankruptcy now and schemes for tourist and residential development prepared by the public works department, of which I have details here, need urgent assistance and grant aid because these will enhance tremendously the potential of Gibraltar? We must not forget—and I know the noble Baroness will not forget—that Gibraltar is even more British than the British.
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, I am delighted to hear that the noble Lord, Lord Wallace, has had such a very nice—perhaps I should say "holiday" in Gibraltar, and has come back with full information about it. Of course, the Government recognise the importance of Gibraltar and the long historic association between Gibraltar and Britain. It is in recognition of that that we have given the amount of aid that we have for the commercialisation of the dockyard, quite apart from the aid framework sums of money to which I have already referred. Perhaps I might add that some of the MoD land which is being transferred to the Gibraltar Government will be used for tourist development. In particular, it is hoped that the Queensway sites will be handed over to the Gibraltar Government in two or three years' time for development as an hotel and marina complex.
On the point about air travel between Spain and Gibraltar, the provision of new scheduled services between Spain and Gibraltar is a matter of discussion in the normal context of our air services agreement with Spain. Our agreement on the re-establishment of direct communications will naturally give a new impetus to this.
§ Lord KilmarnockMy Lords, would the noble Baroness not agree that the greatest single assistance that can be given to tourism in Gibraltar would be simply through the opening of the frontier, which will inevitably suck Spanish tourists in from Spain and make it possible for British visitors to base themselves on Gibraltar for excursions into southern Spain as they used to do before the frontier was closed?
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, yes; I should like to thank the noble Lord, Lord Kilmarnock, for that supplementary question. We believe that the full opening of the frontier will have a beneficial effect on the tourist industry.
§ The Earl of LauderdaleMy Lords, would my noble friend not agree that, while this enthusiasm for Gibraltar is shared in all parts of the House, a recent reference on the governmental side to possible discussions about some question of the future of sovereignty casts a shadow?
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, the supplementary of my noble friend goes rather wide of the original Question, but I am happy to confirm what I said to the House when I repeated the Statement last week; namely, that the Government stand by the preamble to the 1969 Constitution.
§ Lord MolloyMy Lords, would not the noble Baroness agree and be prepared to consider in view of the various points raised today, that Gibraltar now faces a new future? Is she aware that links with Britain are indissoluble, but Gibraltar faces a new future and will require encouragement and help from Great Britain. Would it not be possible for the Government to establish some form of co-operation not only on tourism but on all sorts of industrial action using our expertise to buffer and assist the people of Gibraltar?
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, I believe that one of the most important aspects for which the people of Gibraltar have asked is the full opening of the frontier. I am glad that it is now known that by 15th February the frontier will be fully open. This will have a very beneficial effect on tourism, as on other matters concerning Gibraltar. As I have indicated in my answers to other questions, we have given very considerable sums of aid in recognition of the special case of Gibraltar.
§ Lord MerrivaleMy Lords, perhaps I may ask one further question of my noble friend. Will she agree that there are two main prospects for the future of Gibraltar: a successful commercial dockyard and a prosperous tourist industry? As for the former, Her Majesty's Government have provided funds; while in terms of expenditure, tourism demands the greatest attention, as was stressed by the May 1982 PEIDA Report on economic diversification in Gibraltar. Will my noble friend agree that, in effect, the expenditure of £332,000 will not take tourism very far?
§ Baroness YoungMy Lords, I am glad that my noble friend Lord Merrivale recognises what we have done to help Gibraltar in the commercialisation of the dockyard. As I indicated to him in the Answer to my original Question, quite a proportion of the £13 million aid framework money will go towards infrastructure which of course will help the tourist industry.