§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the cost of promoting British branding and identity in culture, media and sport overseas in the last year for which figures are available; and what element of this expenditure promotes(a) Welsh, (b) Scottish and (c) Irish branding and identity as a distinct component of that of the United Kingdom as a whole. [131945]
§ Mr. CabornThere are a number of Government Departments which promote British branding abroad. DCMS provides £35.5 million per annum to VisitBritain (formerly the British Tourist Authority) to promote Britain overseas as a tourist destination. In 2002–03 an additional £20 million was provided from the Reserve in order to help tourism recover from the impact of the foot and mouth outbreak and the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. Funds are not allocated for individual regions of Britain. Britain is promoted as a whole in a way which maximises the impact of VisitBritain's campaigns in individual markets overseas. Tourism is a devolved matter and is the responsibility of the respective administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.