House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 7 Sept 2004 (pt 77)

7 Sept 2004 : Column 1237W—continued

Sports Lottery Fund

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total reserves in the Sports Lottery Fund are. [186931]

Mr. Caborn: Balances held by each of the sports Lottery distributors as at 1 August 2004 are shown in the table.

Distributing body Balance (£)

Sport England 193,912,849.51

Sport Scotland 60,688,533.81

Sports Council for Wales 17,974,275.50

Sports Council of Northern Ireland 24,127,137.58

UK Sport 2,880,357.25

Total 299,583,153.65

Distributing body	Balance (£)
Sport England	193,912,849.51
Sport Scotland	60,688,533.81
Sports Council for Wales	17,974,275.50
Sports Council of Northern Ireland	24,127,137.58
UK Sport	2,880,357.25
Total	299,583,153.65

St. Kitts Maritime Archaeological Project

Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to assist maritime archaeology of sunken British vessels in the waters off Commonwealth countries, with particular reference to wrecks off St. Kitts being researched by the St. Kitts Maritime Archaeological Project. [185002]

Mr. Caborn [holding answer 19 July 2004]: We have no current plans to assist the St. Kitts Maritime Archaeological Project.

Tourism

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much revenue she estimates tourism generated for (a) the East of England and (b) Suffolk in each of the last seven years. [187210]

Mr. Caborn: The information requested is as follows.

(a) The available figures for tourism expenditure in the East of England region are shown in the table.
Tourism expenditure in the East of England region by year⁽¹⁰⁵⁾

£ million Visits by overseas residents Trips by domestic residents with an overnight stay Tourism day trips by domestic residents Total

1997 500 n/a⁽¹⁰⁶⁾ n/a n/a

1998 550 n/a⁽¹⁰⁶⁾ 2,870 n/a

1999 550 n/a⁽¹⁰⁶⁾ n/a n/a

2000 650 1,540 n/a n/a

2001 520 1,800 n/a n/a

2002 620 1,700 2,930 5,250

2003 590 nya n/a n/a

⁽¹⁰⁵⁾Sample sizes at this level of detail will be small which means that the estimates will be subject to a high margin of error. Particular caution should therefore be exercised when comparing any two of the estimates.
⁽¹⁰⁶⁾Figures for overnight stays by domestic tourists are taken from the UK Tourism Survey. Comparable figures at regional level prior to 2000 are not available due to a major change in survey methodology.
n/a = not available,
nya = not yet available
Sources:
International Passenger Survey, UK Tourism Survey, GB Leisure Day Visits Survey

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£ million	Visits by overseas residents	Trips by domestic residents with an overnight stay	Tourism day trips by domestic residents	Total
1997	500	n/a⁽¹⁰⁶⁾	n/a	n/a
1998	550	n/a⁽¹⁰⁶⁾	2,870	n/a
1999	550	n/a⁽¹⁰⁶⁾	n/a	n/a
2000	650	1,540	n/a	n/a
2001	520	1,800	n/a	n/a
2002	620	1,700	2,930	5,250
2003	590	nya	n/a	n/a

(b) The available figures for tourism expenditure in Suffolk are shown in the table. Figures for tourism day trips are only available at regional level.
Tourism expenditure in Suffolk by year⁽¹⁰⁷⁾

£ million Visits by overseas residents Trips by domestic residents with an overnight stay Tourism day trips by domestic residents ⁽¹⁰⁹⁾ Total

1997 30 n/a⁽¹⁰⁸⁾ n/a n/a

1998 40 n/a⁽¹⁰⁸⁾ n/a n/a

1999 55 n/a⁽¹⁰⁸⁾ n/a n/a

2000 50 225 n/a n/a

2001 40 310 n/a n/a

2002 70 160 n/a n/a

2003 40 nya n/a n/a

⁽¹⁰⁷⁾ Sample sizes at this level of detail will be small which means that the estimates will be subject to a high margin of error. Particular caution should therefore be exercised when comparing any two of the estimates.
⁽¹⁰⁸⁾ Figures for overnight stays by domestic tourists are taken from the UK Tourism Survey. Comparable figures at regional level prior to 2000 are not available due to a major change in survey methodology.
⁽¹⁰⁹⁾ Due to small sample sizes in the GB Day Visits Survey, data are not available below Government Office Region level.
n/a = not available
nya = not yet available
Sources:
International Passenger Survey, UK Tourism Survey

£ million	Visits by overseas residents	Trips by domestic residents with an overnight stay	Tourism day trips by domestic residents ⁽¹⁰⁹⁾	Total
1997	30	n/a⁽¹⁰⁸⁾	n/a	n/a
1998	40	n/a⁽¹⁰⁸⁾	n/a	n/a
1999	55	n/a⁽¹⁰⁸⁾	n/a	n/a
2000	50	225	n/a	n/a
2001	40	310	n/a	n/a
2002	70	160	n/a	n/a
2003	40	nya	n/a	n/a

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government are taking to support the tourism industry in Bridgwater. [186506]

Mr. Caborn: Since April 2003, the Regional Development Agencies have had strategic responsibility for tourism development in the regions, reflecting its importance as a driver of regional economies. Over 2003–06, South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) will receive £403,000 per annum from my Department for tourism development activity, which is currently passed to the Regional Tourist Board, South West Tourism (SWT), as core funding. The board of SWRDA has recently endorsed the new tourism strategy, 'Towards 2015' and additional funding of £1.5 million per annum for the next four years has been proposed to cover its implementation. SWRDA has also funded other projects which benefit tourism in the region, including regional marketing, the Tourism Skills Network and capital investment in regional attractions.

DCMS has made available to VisitBritain in 2004–05 grant in aid of £35.5 million to promote Britain overseas and £12.9 million to lead the domestic marketing of England. Tourism in Bridgwater benefits from this expenditure, as does the rest of the country.

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to visit Herefordshire to promote it as a tourist destination for (a) British and (b) foreign holiday-makers. [186823]

Mr. Caborn: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State currently has no official plans to visit Herefordshire. However, Herefordshire is promoted

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both globally and domestically in many of VisitBritain's campaigns. Domestically, it is featured in the flagship £2.5 million 'enjoyEngland' campaign and other themed promotions. For example, in the 'Outdoor England' campaign the region's natural attractions, such as the

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Wye Valley walk and the Forest of Dean are featured. Internationally, the county is included in campaigns such as 'Good Living', 'Lifestyle & Culture' and 'Hidden Britain'. Further information can be obtained from VisitBritain's website www.visitbritain.com.