Thursday Volume 521 20 January 2011 No. 102 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday 20 January 2011 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2011 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Parliamentary Click-Use Licence, available online through the Office of Public Sector Information website at www.opsi.gov.uk/click-use/ Enquiries to the Office of Public Sector Information, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU; e-mail: [email protected] 987 20 JANUARY 2011 988 such as Chester zoo, a much bigger and stronger say in House of Commons how their local destinations are promoted and marketed to tourists in the UK and abroad. Thursday 20 January 2011 Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab): What assessment has the Minister made of the rise in VAT on the The House met at half-past Ten o’clock potential for the promotion of tourism? Would he explain to people who provide tourism products whether PRAYERS they should absorb the cost of that rise, thereby cutting their profits, or pass it on to their customers, thereby offering a disincentive for tourism in the UK? [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] John Penrose: Clearly the rise in VAT is principally a matter for the Treasury, but it affects all economic sectors and every business in the country will have to Oral Answers to Questions make precisely the judgment that the right hon. Gentleman describes. As a politician, I would not dream of telling individual businesses how to run their business—it must CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT rightly be a matter for them—but I am sure that, because they have skin in the game, they will make the right decision for their business in their particular sector. The Secretary of State was asked— Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op): Is Tourism the Minister aware of how important literary houses in the UK are to visitors from overseas and from this 1. Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con): What recent country? I chair the John Clare Trust—he was one of progress his Department has made on the promotion of our greatest poets of the countryside and environment. the UK as a tourist destination. [34700] It is very difficult these days to get a brown sign or any help to put such attractions on the map. Can the Minister 3. Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con): What help us? recent progress his Department has made on the promotion of the UK as a tourist destination. [34702] John Penrose: The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that our listed houses are major tourist attractions, and The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, that includes our great heritage houses and the smaller Olympics, Media and Sport (John Penrose): With private and more modest places that are listed. If he is interested sector partners, the Government are creating a major, in promoting them more effectively, and I applaud his new overseas marketing fund. We are looking to create efforts in doing so, he should speak first with his local a fund of £100 million over the next four years which tourist board, which will be refocused in the way I have aims to deliver 1 million additional international visitors explained. We are also evaluating whether there are to the UK and £2 billion in extra visitor spend. other ways to improve things such as signage, and not just brown signs, but signs at major transport interchanges, Nicky Morgan: I thank the Minister for his reply. As such as those that direct people on how to get to a he will know, the Government are rightly focused on an particular attraction once they have arrived at a train agenda of growth across our economy. Does he agree station. All those points are essential and should be that tourism, especially to the regions, such as Leicestershire, handled by the newly refocused and, I hope, revitalised and to regional attractions such as the Great Central local tourist boards. railway, is a key part of that growth strategy? Grass-roots Sport John Penrose: I absolutely agree. One of the key points about tourism is that it is an efficient and rapid 2. Mr David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) way of driving economic growth and regeneration and (Con): What proportion of sport governing bodies that it does that in all parts of the country outside the have committed to spend 30% of their broadcast south-east. It is an excellent tool for rebalancing our income on grass-roots sports. [34701] economy. The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Stephen Mosley: My constituency is home to Chester Robertson): As these are the first departmental questions zoo, one of our nation’s foremost visitor attractions. since the new year, I will start by putting on the record—I With more than 25 million people visiting zoos and am sure that I speak for all hon. Members—our aquariums in the UK every year, what help can the congratulations to the England cricket team for their Minister offer to promote such an important part of triumph in Australia this winter. our visitor economy? At the same time as announcing the decision on listing of sports television coverage in the summer, I John Penrose: We are engaged in a recalibration and challenged sports to take a hard look at what more they reorganisation of local tourist boards—destination could do to increase the proportion of their broadcast management organisations, to use the jargon—which income that they spend on their grass roots. I am are being refocused to become more private sector-led. delighted to say that on 22 December all six of the The express intention is to give prominent attractions, governing bodies that are part of the Sport and Recreation 989 Oral Answers20 JANUARY 2011 Oral Answers 990 Alliance’s voluntary code committed to ensure that at the flats that will be up for sale on the private market? least 30% of the net revenues from their UK broadcasting On a recent visit to the Olympic site, I was told that the rights are reinvested. In total, that means that at least anticipated asking price for a two-bedroom flat is between £250 million a year will go to grass-roots sport. £350,000 and £400,000. Does the Minister agree that that puts those properties out of reach of the vast Mr Evennett: I thank my hon. Friend for his reply, majority of ordinary people and, in particular, ordinary which is welcome news for sport, and I am sure that Londoners? we all congratulate him on what he is doing. Can he confirm that, together with reforms to the national Hugh Robertson: I shall answer the question in two lottery, that will mean that funding going to grass-roots parts. Let us remember that a considerable portion of sports will be higher at the end of this Parliament than the houses in the Olympic village has already been it was under the previous Labour Government? acquired by Triathlon Homes as affordable housing; that is very much a key part of the scheme. In terms of Hugh Robertson: That is indeed correct. Sport England what happens to the Olympic village after the games, we will experience a small dip next year, but after that the have been extremely careful with the expressions of lottery reforms kick in and its income will be up by interests that we have looked at precisely not to put 14% at the end of this comprehensive spending review housing values on it, so I do not know where the hon. period. Lady got that figure from. It might be a market guesstimate, but it is no more than that at the moment. Richard Harrington (Watford) (Con): At the end of November, the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Tessa Jowell (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab): I Olympics, Media and Sport, my hon. Friend the Member am sure we all agree that the economic legacy of the for Wantage (Mr Vaizey), announced that he was setting Olympic park will be in part secured by identifying a up a UK film forum to plot the progress of UK film long-term tenant for the Olympic stadium. Does the industry funding. Can the Minister for Sport and the Minister therefore agree that when we bid to host the Olympics inform the House whether the forum has met games, the bid book was clear that the stadium’s legacy and what progress has been made? would have athletics at its core, with associated multi-sport availability for the local community? Does he also recognise Mr Speaker: Order. We are talking about sport, and that the Olympic Park Legacy Company will make a I thought the hon. Gentleman was going to request a decision on the tenant on 28 January? There are two similar facility in relation to sport. contenders, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham football Richard Harrington: The point is that it is a form of clubs, but does he agree that only the joint bid from sport for me. Newham council and West Ham football club fulfils the commitments we made when we won the games? Mr Speaker: Right. A one-sentence reply from the Minister will suffice. Hugh Robertson: The right hon. Lady is of course correct. At the time of the bid, the commitment was to Hugh Robertson: It is probably safest to say that that leave a 25,000-seater mixed-use stadium, with athletics is a very helpful suggestion and I will look at it. at its core, so we have already broken a part of that, in that there is not going to be—I would guess—a 25,000-seater Mr Speaker: I am grateful to the Minister and to the stadium.