§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Minister for Trade what are the terms of reference of the consultants whom he has asked to investigate the functions and activities of the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourist Board; and in particular, whether they are free to recommend a merger of the two bodies.
§ Mr. Sproatpursuant to his reply, 25 October 1982, c. 269]: My Department, the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourist Board have together commissioned Arthur Young, McClelland Moores and Co. to carry out a study with the following terms of reference:
The purpose of the review is to identify savings in the running costs of the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourist Board (`the Boards'). The consultants should review the present operations of the Boards and examine the allocation of grant-in-aid and other resources between them. The consultants should identify areas where reductions in activities and/or good housekeeping economies should provide net savings options amounting to(a)£1 million(b)£2 million and(c)£3 million (at current prices) from the grant-in-aid of each Board, taking effect from 1 April 1983. The implications of each level of saving should be described, and the consultants should also assess the impact of the saving on staffing levels; redundancy costs should be identified separately. In presenting the savings options, the consultants should take proper account of the Boards' statutory responsibilities under the Development of Tourism Act 1969 and the need to maximise the financial contributions to the Boards' activities from non-government sources.As the last sentence of the terms of reference indicates, the consultants will be working within the organisational framework laid down in the current Act.