Written question asked by Anne Milton (Conservative) on Monday, 21 May 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 23 May 2007. It was answered by Shaun Woodward (Labour) on Monday, 4 June 2007 on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

VisitBritain

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many of the recent job reductions announced by VisitBritain are of posts located in (a) the UK, (b) other European Union member states, (c) North America and (d) other countries; and if she will make a statement.

Answer: VisitBritain is currently consulting on its proposals for re-structuring its overseas marketing operations. The changes are designed to focus VisitBritain's activities on developing markets, and to meet the challenges posed by emerging market trends such as the move away from printed consumer literature, and towards online marketing. The UK consultation process will end on 31 May.The number of posts, by location, which VisitBritain proposes to reduce as part of its present re-structuring process is as follows:"(a) in the UK, 55;""(b) in other European Union member states, 29;""(c) in North America, none; and""(d) in other countries, none."In the UK, VisitBritain proposes to discontinue 45 vacant posts, to make 20 posts redundant, and to create 10 new posts. VisitBritain proposes to increase staffing levels in the Asia Pacific region.

Secondary information