§ Mr. MossTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the membership of each regional tourist board has been in the last three years. [176312]
§ Mr. CabornRegional Tourist Boards are not Government agencies, their board members are not appointed by Ministers and records of their membership are not held centrally.
§ Mr. MossTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the expenditure of each regional tourist board has been in the last three years, broken down by main budget heading. [176318]
§ Mr. CabornRegional Tourist Boards (RTBs) are not Government agencies and records of their expenditure are not held centrally. Most of them are private companies limited by guarantee and they have income in addition to Government funding.
Funding via the English Tourism Council in 2001–02 and 2002–03 and via the Regional Development Agencies in 2003–04 totalled £6.5 million, £5.7 million and £3.6 million in these years respectively. Government funding passed to the RTBs in these years for specific tourism projects, delivery of national objectives at a regional level and activities in line with regional strategies. Separately, funding of £1.9 million per annum passed from DCMS to the Greater London Authority who, worked with the London Tourist Board (renamed VisitLondon in 2003), on marketing London overseas and tourism development.