§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding is available to local authorities with cases of foot and mouth disease in their district for the promotion of tourism. [8436]
§ Dr. HowellsOver £90 million each year is available to local authorities to promote tourism. Funding is allowed as part of the environmental protective and cultural services block of the rate support grant and it is up to individual local authorities to allocate their funds in accordance with statutory requirements and local needs and priorities.
The regional development agency business recovery fund was established in April to provide targeted help for rural businesses, including funding for local and regional promotion and incentive schemes to encourage visitors to return.
The English Tourism Council received £3.8 million in additional funding to run an advertising and promotion campaign and provide other support to help offset the effects of foot and mouth disease on the domestic tourism industry; £2 million of this funding went directly to regional tourist boards.
In addition the British Tourist Authority received an extra £14.2 million to support a tactical marketing campaign to promote Britain as a great place for a holiday.
§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what grants are available to encourage tourism in areas affected by foot and mouth disease. [8437]
§ Dr. HowellsThe regional development agency business recovery fund, established in April, was designed to provide targeted help for rural businesses, focused primarily on measures to enable them to develop in the medium term. The fund is one element in a package of recovery assistance for tourism that includes additional funding for marketing, business rate relief and deferral of tax payments. These measures and existing programmes will help to encourage tourism.
§ Hugh RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to help the tourist industry recover from the effects of foot and mouth disease and the events of 11 September. [9714]
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§ Dr. Howells[holding answer 23 October 2001]: Since 1 March, my Department has provided an additional £3.8 million to the English Tourism Council and £14.2 million to the British Tourist Authority. The regional development agency business recovery fund, established in April, is designed to provide targeted help for rural businesses, including tourism businesses, affected by the consequent implications of foot and mouth disease. On 18 October, the Government allocated a further £24 million to the fund, taking the total to £74 million. The fund is one element in a package of recovery assistance for tourism that includes business rate relief and deferral of tax payments.
In-bound international tourism data for the month of September will not be available until November 2001. When these statistics are available, an assessment of the initial impact of the events of 11 September on tourism can be made.