| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Tourism
8. Mr. Ennis: What plans he has for encouraging the improvement of training and qualifications in the tourism industry. [17983]
14. Mr. Michael Jabez Foster:
What plans he has for encouraging the improvement of training and qualifications in the tourism industry. [17989]
Mr. Tom Clarke:
My Department recognises the importance of a skilled, world-class work force in the industry and the Government's new deal initiative has training at its very heart. I was therefore delighted by the high level of interest and support shown at the tourism, hospitality and leisure new deal conference, which was hosted by my Department and the Secretary of State on 24 November.
Mr. Ennis:
Is my hon. Friend aware that tourism is now the single biggest industry in Yorkshire and Humberside, with more than 140,000 employees? Given the industry's significance to Yorkshire and Humberside, did he have an opportunity at the recent new deal conference to assess its response to the Government's initiative?
Mr. Clarke:
My hon. Friend will be delighted to hear that there was an excellent and positive response, and that almost 50 tourism organisations have already indicated their willingness in principle to participate in the new deal scheme. Last Thursday and Friday, I was delighted to visit Yorkshire; I shall visit it again at the end of this week. I assure my hon. Friend that Yorkshire--with its skills and its genius--will continue to make the contribution that it is capable of making to the growth of real jobs not only in his region but in the rest of Britain.
Mr. Foster:
In constituencies such as Hastings and Rye, tourism has often been regarded as a seasonal, low-paid employment sector. What plans does my hon. Friend have to create stability in that industry?
Mr. Clarke:
My hon. Friend is absolutely correct. I have appointed a working group to report to the main forum on tourism on the very issue of the regeneration of seaside towns, including the resorts represented by my hon. Friend. We are encouraging a large number of initiatives, including the Norman Richardson house project, the London hotels training centre, the Springboard project and many others. My hon. Friend and the House can be assured that we regard youth employment, youth training and the creation of real jobs that lead to
Mr. Brady:
I was interested that the Minister chose to link the new deal and the tourism industry. Does he accept that one of the shortcomings of such a link is that many people who work in tourism are seasonally employed and, therefore, may never be unemployed for the six-month period necessary to be party to the new deal? What is he planning to do to address that problem?
Mr. Clarke:
I do not accept that. With proper planning, many such problems can be avoided. The hon. Gentleman referred to the industry and the prospects for the new deal. Perhaps I may remind him that 58 per cent. of those who were represented at our conference on the new deal said that they would make a contribution to it. May I also remind him that 86 per cent. of those involved in the British Hospitality Association said that they, too, would become involved?
The hon. Gentleman and the right hon. Member for South-West Surrey (Mrs. Bottomley) will know that, on occasions, the Secretary of State can be diffident. To communicate to them the spirit of appreciation of the new deal and our approach to tourism, I remind them of the words of Ken Robinson, who writes for the "Tourism Society Journal", and who said of my right hon. Friend:
"After the initial performance, audience participation was encouraged and this critic, for one, has to report that the initiatives"--
on the new deal--
"were greatly praised by almost all present, the response was little short of a standing ovation."
Millennium Experience
27. Mr. Keith Simpson: How many public relations consultants are currently contracted for the millennium experience. [18005]
The Minister without Portfolio (Mr. Peter Mandelson): None.
Mr. Simpson: On behalf of many hon. Members present, may I say what a joy it is to see the Minister here this afternoon? I know that he is opposed to "excessive accountability", to repeat the words he used before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, but perhaps he could give us some idea of how much public relations on the millennium experience is costing.
Mr. Mandelson: I have already said that no outside public relations firms are contracted to the New Millennium Experience Company. Of course it has members of staff who are working to promote that experience--as my hon. Friend would expect.
Mr. Timms: I wonder whether my hon. Friend is aware that the millennium dome is already a spectacular site
from my constituency [Interruption.]--indeed it is--north of the river. Rather than listen to the consultants who are the pre-occupation of Conservative Members, will he consider asking school children in my constituency for ideas about the content of the exhibition in that dome, because they will be enthused and keen to contribute? I am sure that they would add a great deal of value to an exciting festival.
Mr. Mandelson: That is an excellent idea. The contents of the millennium experience, the dome, will attract people of all ages, although I suspect that playing surfball, the 21st century sport, will have an especial appeal to young people. In addition to forming a new millennium council to tap into a wide range of popular opinion about the experience, I intend to form a junior board or a junior council so that young people, who will enjoy the experience so much, will have an opportunity to plug right into the planning of the experience.
Mr. Maclennan: Does the Minister think that the millennium experience's impact on the country's cultural life will last as long as did the outcome of the great exhibition and the post-war south bank developments, with which his distinguished grandfather was associated? If he takes the view that the benefits could be as long lasting, does he agree that public relations consultants are unnecessary as long as he holds his present job?
Mr. Mandelson: I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman. The millennium experience will be a great success, because it will be an opportunity to bring together the whole country. It will also give us a chance to pause and reflect on our society and our country as we enter the new century and the new millennium. He is also right to say that there will a considerable legacy from the investment we are making. It is important that we should remember the reclamation from waste and dereliction of a big slice of our capital city, the construction of the new millennium village community on the Greenwich peninsula and the tremendous transport infrastructure, all of which will be permanent legacies of our investment.
Mr. Dalyell: What access will be made available for Scotland and the north of England to the millennium experience?
Mr. Mandelson: I am glad my hon. Friend asks that question. One of the important conditions that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out when we agreed to go ahead with the Conservative party's excellent idea for the millennium experience was that there should be a national programme that would reach out to all parts of the country and to all the national regions within the United Kingdom. The ticketing and transport arrangements we develop will ensure that people can afford to come and that they will have the facilities to come to the millennium dome at Greenwich from every part of the country, wherever they live.
Mr. Maude: The hon. Gentleman started with five minutes of questions and it has now come down to four--we can look forward to its decreasing further. I am sure that everyone shares my relief that, in view of his dislike of what he calls "excessive accountability", he has come back at all. Does he not understand that his reluctance to
disclose any real information about progress at Greenwich--for example, the laughable information centre that contained no information and the information brochure that contained, at my best count, fewer than 900 words, most of which were slogans--undermines the credibility of the whole project? Does he not understand that people assume either that he has something to hide or that--more likely--he is hiding because he has nothing to say?
Mr. Mandelson: Given that the millennium experience and the construction of the dome was the Conservative Government's idea and began when the Conservatives were in power, I do not quite understand the right hon. Gentleman knocking and log rolling. When I took over ministerial responsibility in June this year, there was no content to speak of whatsoever.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
The Parliamentary Secretary was asked--
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |