§ Lord O'Haganasked Her Majesty's Government:
How much they have spent on tourist projects not related to infrastructure in assisted areas in each quarter of each of the last ten years; and whether these amounts have been affected by the change in their interpretation of Section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969.
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Belstead)Quarterly figures for grants paid to projects in assisted areas under Section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969 are not readily available for the period in question. Any variations in the amounts are more likely to be because of the reduction in the size of the assisted areas than the geographical extension of the Section 4 scheme whose provision has been increased in 1983–84. Had the decision been to continue to restrict Section 4 assistance to assisted areas there is no certainty that the funds would have been maintained at their previous level. Because the scheme now covers the whole of England it means that it remains available in the areas which lost assisted area status in August 1982 as well as in the present assisted areas.