Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower sailing from England to Cape Cod.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We welcome events which celebrate our rich global heritage, and the 400th anniversary celebrations of the Mayflower setting sail to the United States offers a unique opportunity to do this.
I am pleased that we have provided significant funding to the Mayflower 400 organisers, who are responsible for delivering the commemorations. This is demonstrated by the £750,000 of funding my Department has provided through VisitEngland, which will help to ensure a strong legacy for the commemorations across the UK and globally.
In 2015, DCMS provided £35,000 to invest in the Mayflower museum. Last year, we also awarded Plymouth £3.5m through the Cultural Development Fund - part of which will support digital product development for Mayflower’s programme.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will change the status of the Mayflower 400 commemorative coin from collectors-only to general circulation.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Royal Mint has a long-established tradition of producing coins in order to mark historic moments. The 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s voyage is an important moment in our shared history with the United States and will rightly be celebrated with the production of a commemorative coin. The number and denomination of coins issued into circulation is dependent on demand from UK banks and Post Offices.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which (1) Department, and (2) ministers, are responsible for organising the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The commemorations for the 400th Mayflower anniversary are being organised by a partnership of organisations called the Mayflower 400, who are ultimately responsible for organising and delivering the commemorations.
UK Government, primarily through the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), has provided some financial support to the Mayflower 400’s programme. This is demonstrated by the £750,000 funding that DCMS has provided through VisitEngland, which will help to ensure a strong legacy for the commemorations. In 2015, DCMS provided £35,000 to invest in the Mayflower museum and in 2019, DCMS awarded £3.5m through the Cultural Development Fund for digital product development.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with Buckingham Palace on promoting the Mayflower 400 celebrations in September 2020.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has not had any direct discussions with Buckingham Palace regarding the Mayflower commemorations. The Mayflower 400 group are leading on the preparations and liaising with stakeholders.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has made an estimate of the number of US tourists who will visit the UK in 2020 as part of the Mayflower celebrations in September 2020.
Answered by Michael Ellis
DCMS has provided £750,000 of funding for the Mayflower celebrations through VisitEngland. This funding was used to:
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question
To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether Plymouth Gin will be served in Parliamentary catering establishments ahead of Mayflower 400 commemorations.
Answered by Tom Brake
Plymouth Gin is not sold in House of Commons catering outlets and there are no plans to serve it ahead of the Mayflower 400 commemorations.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with tourist boards in the UK on marketing the whole of the UK to American visitors as part of the Mayflower 400 year celebrations.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Government fully supports the Mayflower 400 programme, and we acknowledge Plymouth as the centre for the anniversary commemorations. Initiatives such as these help to encourage tourists to travel outside of London and see what the whole UK has to offer.
The Mayflower 400 received standalone grant (not Discover England Fund) of £500,000 over a two-year term ending 31 March 2018 to undertake a range of consumer marketing media ,PR Travel trade and product development activities.
The Mayflower is also a feature of the £500,000 Discover England fund project “US connections” which uses cultural connections to grow inbound tourism from the US. The project will also be attending Destination Britain North America later this year.
Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to appoint a special representative for the Mayflower 400 celebrations in 2020; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Prime Minister established the post of Special Envoy for the Mayflower commemorations in the Spring Budget of 2017 and invited Oliver Colvile to take up the position. Following the 2017 General Election, the Prime Minister invited Mr Colvile to continue in the role, which he accepted.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much and what proportion of the money committed to the East Midlands by his Department for the 2020 Mayflower Pilgrims 400th anniversary has been allocated to date.
Answered by Michael Ellis
VisitBritain has allocated £500,000 of funding to the Mayflower 400 team to assist in the delivery of the Mayflower commemorations. The national Mayflower Trail is a part of this project and includes Scrooby and Austerfield as Nottinghamshire sites of interest.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding has been allocated to the Mayflower 400 year anniversary celebrations in (a) 2017, (b) 2018, (c) 2019, (d) 2020 and (e) 2021.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
DCMS, through VisitBritain, has allocated £260,000 in 2016-17 and £240,000 in 2017-18 towards the Mayflower 400 celebrations. Additionally, Mayflower 400 received a £35,000 Arts Council England grant towards the Mayflower Museum in February 2015. Plymouth has received other Arts Council grants which will benefit the celebrations indirectly.