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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the potential economic value of the business events sector; and how many civil services in her Department work on supporting and growing the sector.

DCMS recognises that the business events sector is a machine for economic growth and local prosperity. The business events sector is estimated to be worth £34 billion to the UK Economy and an additional £200 billion in trade established at Business Events.

The Business Events Growth Programme (BEGP), led by VisitBritain, forms part of the UK Government’s commitment to grow the business events sector across Britain. Every pound invested in the programme supported £33 of revenue being generated for the British economy through new events secured, or in additional delegate spend, during the five-year review period from 2018 to 2023.

Within DCMS, we have one civil servant who works full time on supporting the business events sector, plus a percentage of time from senior colleagues who provide oversight.