To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding his Department provided to the (a) Eastern, (b) East Midlands, (c) West Midlands and (d) South West regional development agencies in the last financial year; and what proportion of this funding to each agency was ring-fenced for tourism-related purposes. (201772)

[holding answer 25 April 2008]: Funding for regional development agencies (RDAs) is not ring-fenced for particular economic sectors, such as tourism. In 2007-08, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) contributed £3.6 million to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform’s (DBERR's) single programme budget (the “Single Pot”) in respect of the tourism responsibilities of the eight RDAs outside London. Tourism support expenditure by all the RDAs in 2007-08 is estimated at £43.5 million.