Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to provide support to seaside and high street arcades during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Like other businesses, seaside and high street arcades have been able to access the Government’s £300 billion package of support measures, which has included a business rates holiday, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. In addition, a new Job Support Scheme (JSS) will be introduced from 1 November to protect viable jobs in businesses which are facing lower demand over the winter months due to coronavirus. On 9 October, the Chancellor announced that JSS will be expanded to protect jobs and support businesses required to close their doors as a result of coronavirus restrictions.
The department has also worked closely with industry representatives on developing guidance to ensure that the sector could reopen in a Covid secure way. We will continue to keep this guidance under review with the industry.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to encourage (a) UK and (b) overseas citizens to take holidays in UK (i) seaside towns and (b) coastal communities.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
VisitBritain and VisitEngland are responsible for promoting the UK as a tourist destination, which it does through a range of different initiatives and campaigns. VB sit on the Coastal Tourism Leadership Forum (run by the National Coastal Tourism Academy), helping to shape the Coastal Visitor Economy Vision and Action Plan. DCMS are observers at the forum.
One of the projects currently being supported by the £40m VisitEngland Discover England Fund is the South West Coastal Path, which is promoting the path to the Dutch and German market.
Government recently published the Tourism Sector Deal which aims to improve the sector’s productivity and ready our visitor economy for the visitors of the future.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to encourage the development of tourism in seaside towns and coastal communities.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
VisitEngland administer the £40m Discover England Fund which has helped to develop a number of tourism products which celebrate our coastal communities, such as England’s Seafood Coast, the Garden Gourmet Trails of England and England’s Coast.
My colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government also provide support and funding to coastal areas through the Coastal Communities Fund and the Coastal Revival Fund, much of which has a tourism focus. They have also set up Coastal Community Teams around the country to support the development of the coastal economy. An example of this investment is the Queensborough Harbour Trust Community Interest Company who received £500,000 of Coastal Communities Funding, increasing the number of moorings in the harbour, improving facilities for visitors and planning further activities and events for the future.