§ Mr. WyattTo ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement about departmental responsibility for co-ordinating and promoting bids to host expos within the United Kingdom. [19155]
§ The Prime Minister[holding answer 8 December 1997]: A town or city wishing to bid for an Expo would need to obtain the support of the relevant sponsoring Department, and, depending on the nature of the Expo proposed, that of other Whitehall Departments, in order to obtain Government endorsement for the project. Once obtained, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office would be responsible for lodging the formal application with the International Bureau of Expositions, the governing body for Expos. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office would provide tactical advice and assistance with lobbying.