| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Tourism Strategy
Miss Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans the Government have to encourage the regeneration of traditional seaside resorts (a) through grant aid and (b) otherwise. [75699]
Janet Anderson: The Single Regeneration Budget brings together 20 separate programmes to create a flexible fund for local regeneration. In September, Ministers at the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions announced that SRB funds--about £3.8 billion over the next three years--would be available to tackle pockets of deprivation, including coastal towns. 44 of the bids included proposals for the regeneration of seaside resorts.
"Tomorrow's Tourism", our tourism strategy document published on 26 February, addresses this important industry sector and, through the eight-stage regeneration plan for resorts, will help to create the right framework in which tourism can flourish. The future of our seaside resorts depends on all those involved in both private and public sectors working together to develop the sort of products now needed and with the quality and value for money which visitors expect. The Government will continue to explore ways to encourage the regeneration of traditional seaside resorts.
Mr. Pendry:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how the Government intend to implement their tourism strategy; and if he will make a statement. [75793]
Janet Anderson:
Our strategy document, "Tomorrow's Tourism", sets out a number of specific proposals for action. The Government will review, and report annually on, the progress made in implementing the strategy.
Miss Geraldine Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has for overseas promotions to encourage people to visit traditional British seaside resorts. [75698]
Janet Anderson:
The Government sponsor the British Tourist Authority, who are responsible for the promotion overseas of Britain as a tourist destination. The BTA assists seaside resorts both by promoting them in its overseas campaigns--such as Waterfront Britain, British Arts Cities, the Millennium Touring Brochure, UK The Guide, Britain for Walkers and the Movie Map--and by encouraging resorts to participate in overseas marketing partnerships and in overseas consumer trade exhibitions.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what were the design, printing and distribution costs of the document, "Tomorrow's Tourism". [75185]
11 Mar 1999 : Column: 325
Mr. Chris Smith
[holding answer 5 March 1999]: The costs of designing, printing and distributing 15,000 copies of the document "Tomorrow's Tourism" are as follows:
Mr. Peter Ainsworth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions his Department held with each of the RDAs about the context of "Tomorrow's Tourism" prior to its publication. [75567]
Mr. Chris Smith
[holding answer 9 March 1999]: Our strategy was developed with full involvement from the industry and other Government Departments with an interest in Tourism. This included the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, who have the policy lead for the RDAs. I discussed our new tourism strategy, "Tomorrow's Tourism" with the Chairmen designate of all the RDAs on 18 February.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if copies of "Tomorrow's Tourism" were sent to each of the chairmen designate of the RDAs. [75566]
Mr. Chris Smith
[holding answer 9 March 1999]: Chairmen and Chief Executives designate of the RDAs were each sent copies of "Tomorrow's Tourism" on 25 February.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with (a) the English Tourist Board, (b) regional tourist boards and (c) representatives of tourist attractions about proposals for a national quality assurance scheme; and if he will make a statement. [76068]
Mr. Chris Smith:
One of the key aims of our new tourism strategy, "Tomorrow's Tourism", published on 26 February, is to develop and spread quality. "Tomorrow's Tourism" was developed with full involvement from the industry, including the English Tourist Board and the Regional Tourist Boards. The strategy promotes the use of the new harmonised quality standards for accommodation being launched to consumers in September. The ETB is considering the use of quality assurance schemes for other industry sectors, including the attractions sector.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money has been recouped to date by the Lottery Film Programme. [75750]
Mr. Chris Smith
[holding answer 9 March 1999]: To date, the Arts Council of England's Lottery Film Programme has recouped £2.33 million.
Mr. Corbett:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much of its funding from the
11 Mar 1999 : Column: 326
National Lottery the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts will make available for projects to turn innovations into products and services. [76027]
Mr. Chris Smith:
The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts is funded by an endowment of £200 million from the National Lottery, which will provide an annual income of up to £10 million. It has yet to be decided how the amounts will be apportioned to the different parts of NESTA's remit. As well as funding innovative products and services, finance will be provided for mentoring and placement schemes; masterclasses; centres of excellence; showcasing and summer schools.
Mr. Clapham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when regulations will be laid to bring into effect the television licence fee increases due to come into force on 1 April. [76731]
Mr. Chris Smith:
On 15 December 1998, Official Report, columns 420-21, I announced that, from 1 April 1999, the fee for a colour television licence would increase to £101 and that for a black and white licence to £33.50. I have today laid before Parliament the regulations necessary to bring these fees into force.
29. Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Attorney- General what steps he is taking to ensure that sufficient resources are deployed to counter serious fraud. [74110]
The Solicitor-General:
The Serious Fraud Office deals with the most serious and complex fraud. The Comprehensive Spending Review resulted in an increase in financial resources available to the SFO over the next three years. In return, the SFO will be expected to increase its caseload and reduce average case costs and the average time it takes to investigate without sacrificing quality. Staff and other resources are sufficient to handle the current caseload.
30. Mr. Gareth Thomas:
To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of cases investigated by the Serious Fraud Office in the past 12 months have resulted in a conviction. [74111]
The Solicitor-General:
In the year to the end of February 1999, the Serious Fraud Office concluded 20 trials involving 38 defendants. In 19 of these trials, at least one defendant was convicted, usually the principal defendant. Of the 38 defendants, a total of 32 were convicted.
31. Mr. Chope:
To ask the Attorney-General how many applications he has received in the last year for him to halt private prosecutions. [74112]
11 Mar 1999 : Column: 327
The Attorney-General:
The only power vested in me to halt proceedings is the right to enter a nolle prosequi, which is confined to cases proceeding on indictment in the Crown Court. It is usually more appropriate for requests to stop proceedings to be considered by the Crown Prosecution Service, which does have the power to intervene in all criminal cases.
Comprehensive statistics relating to applications for nolle prosequi are not kept and in any event would not separately identify those relating to private prosecutions.
32. Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Attorney-General what discussions he has had with colleagues in other jurisdictions on cross-border crime. [74113]
The Attorney-General:
I maintain a close dialogue with colleagues on all matters of mutual interest, including how to prosecute effectively those involved in cross-border crime.
Design
We are awaiting the final invoice from the company responsible for design, typesetting, proof reading and the conversion of the text into a format suitable for the Internet. However, we expect the final cost to be approximately £35,000.
Print
The cost of printing 15,000 copies of the document was £25,510.00.
Distribution
The distribution was undertaken by DCMS employees. The overall cost of postage was £1,850.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |