Every parliamentary written question tabled by Saqib Bhatti this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 21–23 of 23 · Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with representatives of the British Museum on the Elgin Marbles.
As the British Museum is a DCMS Arm’s Length Body, both the Secretary of State and I have recently met its Chair and Director. The sculptures were one of a number of issuesdiscussed.Decisions relating to the care and management of its collection are a matter for the British Museum Trustees, acting within the law.
Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in the Greek Government on (a) loaning and (b) donating the Elgin Marbles to Greece.
I met Greece’s Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni on 4 November for a meeting regarding tourism, when she raised the Parthenon Sculptures among many other matters.Decisions relating to the care and management of the Parthenon Sculptures are a matter for the British Museum Trustees, acting within the law.We have no plans to change the law that would permit a permanent move of the Parthenon Sculptures.
Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled New ambition for 50 million annual visits to UK announced by Tourism Minister, published on 27 November 2024, what steps she plans to take to meet this target.
The new Visitor Economy Advisory Council will work closely with industry and government to develop a national strategy for growth in the sector to achieve this target. We believe it is important to set this ambitious target, because although the UK attracted 41 million visitors in 2019, it only managed 38 million last year under the previous government. We are clear that growth in the tourism industry beyond London will be at the heart of this strategy, and that will require VisitBritain/VisitEngland to champion visits to the British countryside and rural areas to a worldwide audience and expanding the number of Local Visitor Economy Partnerships —including in rural and coastal areas. This is part of our commitment to spreading tourism’s benefits and creating an inclusive, regional growth model.