HC Deb 15 September 2004 vol 424 cc1592-4W
Mr. Alan Williams

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what living accommodation at St. James's Palace was allotted to members of the Royal Family prior to the move by HRH Prince Charles to Clarence House; to which members; and what the current disposition of that accommodation is. [188563]

Mr. Caborn

Prior to the Prince of Wales moving into Clarence House, St. James's Palace provided the official London residences for the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal and Princess Alexandra. The move has had no impact on the apartments of the Princess Royal and Princess Alexandra.

The former official residence of the Prince of Wales is being converted into office accommodation which will be used by staff from the Prince of Wales's household. Their previous offices in St. James's Palace are to be taken over by the Royal Collection Department.

Mr. Alan Williams

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what residential accommodation at Buckingham Palace was allocated to members of the Royal Family, and to which members,(a) in 1999 and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available. [188564]

Mr. Caborn

Buckingham Palace is the official London residence for The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke of York and Earl and Countess

Grant in aid at 2002–03 prices
£000
Tourism Board 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03
Cumbria 275 266 239 399 646 449
East of England 557 432 427 633 868 806
Heart of England 528 545 494 692 931 793
London1 513 432 382 433 1,964 1,900
Northumbria 284 241 273 394 570 447
North West 331 322 314 438 614 575
South East 363 315 303 385 552 544
Southern 519 526 471 606 759 766
South West 496 536 512 568 842 663
Yorkshire 572 564 504 597 755 655
1In 2001–02 and 2002–03, £1.9 million p.a. was passed from DCMS to the Greater London Authority (GLA). As well as £1.5 million for the promotion of London overseas as a destination and as a gateway to the rest of the UK, this included £400,000 for the development of tourism infrastructure, equivalent to the funding formerly passed to the London Tourist Board via the ETC. This funding is maintained under the current DCMS-GLA Agreement for 2003–06. £1.9 million passed to the GLA in 2003–04.

In 2003-04, DCMS funding for tourism development in the regions passed to the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs). The 2003–04 grant in aid payments to the RDAs are shown in the following table:

Grant in aid in 2003–04
Regional Development Agency1 £000
East of England 543
West Midlands 252
East Midlands 252
North East 333
South East England 744
South West England 403
Yorkshire and the Number 360

Grant in aid per head of resident population1 at 2002–03 prices
£
Tourism Board 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03
North East 0.11 0.09 0.11 0.16 0.23 0.18
North West and Cumbria1 0.09 0.09 0.08 0.12 0.19 0.15
Yorkshire 0.12 0.11 0.10 0.12 0.15 0.13
Heart of England 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.07 0.10 0.08
East of England 0.11 0.08 0.08 0.12 0.16 0.15
London 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.06 0.27 0.26
Southern and South East1 0.11 0.11 0.10 0.12 0.16 0.16
South West 0.10 0.11 0.10 0.12 0.17 0.13

of Wessex also have residential accommodation in the Palace for use when they are in London. The position is unchanged between 1999 and now.

Back to
Forward to