§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the preparations which his Department is making to help the tourism industry draw people from abroad to the Millennium celebrations. [48790]344W (i)50 per cent. licence fee for organisations with less than 50 television sets and (ii) a full licence fee for organisations with over 50 television sets. [48022]
§ Mr. FisherThe concessionary television licence scheme is not funded by the Treasury but from within the television licensing system. The estimated cost of the scheme at current licence fee levels is £60 million a year.
Records of hotel licences are not held in such a way as to permit an accurate estimate of the additional revenue that would be raised by charging half price licence fees for hotels with fewer that fifty television sets and a full licence fee for those with more than fifty sets. No information is held centrally on the number of television sets installed at other premises.
The estimated cost of providing concessionary television licences at the level and to the groups indicated is as follows:
§ Mr. Chris Smith[holding answer 3 July 1998]: The Government fund the British Tourist Authority to promote Britain overseas and we are now developing plans specifically to promote the millennium celebrations. There are four main elements to these plans:
- (1) a PR and promotional campaign, with launches this autumn in Europe, the USA and the Far East, which are being developed in partnership with Embassies and the British Council;
- (2) the launch in January 1999 of "The New Map of Britain", covering all new millennium attractions;
- (3) provision of a comprehensive millennium information service to consumers; and
- (4) advice and support to members of the travel trade and tourist attractions.