§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Trade what study he has made of the representations from the Heart of England Tourist Board indicating that, although this is a particularly popular tourist area it receives unequal treatment in terms of Government grant, and that it is allocated lesser amounts for advertising than are other parts of the country; and if he will take steps to redress the balance.
§ Mr. MeacherI have considered these representations very carefully. I am not, however, prepared to divert the limited funds at present available for selective tourism project assistance—no more than £2 million for England in 1978–79—so as to aid other parts of the country at the expense of the development and special development areas when those areas anyway contain far more untapped tourist potential than can yet be exploited in existing budgets and which have in general a greater need for employment opportunities.
It is the responsibility of the English Tourist Board to decide how it spends-its advertising budget.