Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what remuneration the chair of the Great Exhibition of the North received for that role; and how much was claimed in expenses by the chair.

DCMS had a contractual relationship with Welcome to Yorkshire (WtY) to help support work on the Great Exhibition of the North.

Under this contract, DCMS paid WtY £445k between May 2016 and October 2018. This funding was for Sir Gary Verity’s role as Chair of GEOTN, and for associated support services, including logistical and communications support, from WtY.

During his tenure as Chair of the Great Exhibition of the North, WtY claimed £5014.95 (inc VAT) in expenses. These expenses were claimed by WtY related directly to Sir Gary Verity and members of the Welcome to Yorkshire team for expenses incurred during all stages of the Great Exhibition.