§ Mr. David Atkinsonasked the Minister for Trade how much public money is available for the current year for tourism projects under section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969; and how this compares with the past five years in real terms.
§ Mr. Iain SproatA sum of £5 million has been made available to the English Tourist Board in 1982–83 for assistance to tourism projects in England under section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969. The board spent the following sums on section 4 in the previous five years:
£'000 1977–78 1,668 1978–79 1,350 1979–80 4,171 1980–81 4,278 1981–82 4,018 Using 1977–78 as the price base, the above sums are equivalent to the following in real terms:
£'000 1978–79 1,222 1979–80 3,223 1980–81 2,796 1981–82 2,372 1982–83 2,746 * Allocation. Section 4 assistance to projects in Scotland and Wales is a matter for the respective Secretaries of State.
§ Mr. David Atkinsonasked the Minister for Trade if he will list the criteria and the priority he will now give for those tourism projects which will receive assistance under section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969.
§ Mr. Iain SproatThe criteria for eligibility for assistance under section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969 include the viability of the project, its anticipated benefits to tourism and employment and the degree of need for assistance from public funds.
In addition, the national tourist boards and their sponsoring Departments decide from time to time which types of project or which geographical areas should be given priority for assistance under section 4. Priorities for projects in England were most recently announced in my statement of 30 July about the extension of section 4 support to all parts of England. I then said that for hotel 541W and guest house accommodation, the emphasis would be on encouraging projects involving the upgrading of existing accommodation rather than on new developments or expansion of bedroom capacity. Priority would also be given to projects designed to extend the tourism season and to projects to improve visitor facilities at important tourist attractions. I stressed that these guidelines did not rule out assistance to good projects of other types. As part of my tourism review, I am considering evidence on whether section 4 grants should not be directed more towards the development of tourist attraction.