§ Mr. TrimbleTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much capital grant has been paid by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board for the provision of upgrading hotel accommodation in each of the last five financial years. [170435]
§ Mr. PearsonIn April 2002 the Capital Investment Programme for accommodation development moved from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) to Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI). Invest NI has responsibility for allocation of resources to accommodation infrastructure projects through the Tourism Development Scheme whilst the NITB retains responsibility for investment in visitor attractions, visitor amenities and visitor servicing.
From April 1999 to March 2004 inclusive, £3,961,879 has been paid by the NITB and Invest NI towards the upgrading of hotels in Northern Ireland. The payment figure can be broken down as set out in the following table:
Payments made (£) 1999–2000 1,048,199 2000–01 946,826 2001–02 1,045,610 2002–03 567,430 2003–04 353,814 Total 3,961,879