§ Mr. Muddasked the Minister for Trade how much money, in total, has been made available for tourism in Cornwall in the form of (a) loans and (b) grants since May 1979.
§ Mr. SproatLoans and grants towards the capital costs of selected tourism projects in England are made through the scheme of financial assistance administered by the English Tourist Board under section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969. The Government also provide exchange risk cover for loans from the European investment bank for tourism projects.
Since May 1979 grants to the value of £1,634,000 have been approved by the English Tourist Board for capital projects located in Cornwall under the section 4 scheme. In addition, the Government have provided exchange risk cover on £1,600,000 of European investment bank loan finance during this period.
The English Tourist Board also makes an annual subvention from its grant-in-aid towards the funding of the non-statutory West Country tourist board. These contributions have amounted to £403,000 for the four years from 1979-80 to 1982-83. In addition, Cornwall benefits from the genera] promotion of domestic tourism carried out by the English Tourist Board.