To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the progress of the Welsh craft initiative.
The craft initiative was launched in early 1988. Crafts business advisers have been appointed
| School catering current expenditure | |||||||||||
| £thousands | |||||||||||
| Local authority | 1979–80 | 1980–81 | 1981–82 | 1982–83 | 1983–84 | 1984–85 | 1985–86 | 1986–87 | 1987–88 | 1988–89 | 1989–901 |
| Cash prices | |||||||||||
| Clwyd | 3,317 | 2,995 | 2,883 | 3,262 | 3,684 | 3,688 | 3,734 | 4,006 | 4,256 | 2,984 | 3,751 |
| Dyfed | 3,700 | 2,818 | 3,086 | 3,318 | 3,509 | 3,016 | 3,001 | 3,267 | 3,531 | 3,069 | 4,416 |
| Gwent | 3,969 | 4,110 | 4,406 | 4,846 | 4,925 | 5,182 | 5,150 | 5,691 | 5,577 | 4,260 | 4,582 |
| Gwynedd | 2,414 | 2,255 | 2,225 | 2,418 | 2,373 | 2,481 | 2,572 | 2,610 | 2,725 | 2,557 | 2,462 |
| Mid Glamorgan | 5,807 | 5,432 | 5,595 | 6,281 | 6,742 | 8,090 | 7,566 | 7,596 | 7,417 | 5,775 | 7,301 |
| Powys | 1,344 | 1,165 | 1,156 | 1,494 | 1,537 | 1,391 | 1,167 | 1,111 | 1,091 | 1,053 | 1,179 |
| South Glamorgan | 2,321 | 1,780 | 1,947 | 2,065 | 2,208 | 2,389 | 2,482 | 2,119 | 2,138 | 1,882 | 2,318 |
| West Glamorgan | 3,191 | 2,879 | 3,006 | 3,324 | 2,768 | 3,460 | 2,802 | 2,867 | 2,841 | 2,859 | 2,904 |
| Total Wales | 26,061 | 23,435 | 24,303 | 27,008 | 27,747 | 29,699 | 28,474 | 29,267 | 29,575 | 24,439 | 28,912 |
and have contacted more than 1,000 Welsh businesses to tell them when help is available. The "Data Crefft" information system for buyers and producers of crafts in Wales is in place and there have been craft initiative stands at all Welsh fairs. Showcases for Welsh craft products have also been set up at the national folk museum (St. Fagans), at the David Morgan department store in Cardiff and at the Wales Centre in Piccadilly, London. There has also been a strong Welsh presence at major trade fairs outside the Principality. A series of marketing and publicity weekends for craftspeople is in progress. An evaluation of the campaign's impact will be carried out once the final year, which starts on 1 April 1990, is complete. I am delighted at the progress that has been made in the improvement of both marketing and quality control.