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Help us avoid unthinkable funding cuts, City tells Vince Cable
Pippa Crerar, City Hall Editor18 Nov 2010
Leading City figures and senior academics today urged Business Secretary Vince Cable to save London's key economic development bodies.
Two dozen business and university leaders said it would be “unthinkable” to leave the capital without cash for inward investment, tourism or attracting overseas students.
They argued that without Visit London, Think London and Study London — which all face closure unless funding is found — London's economy could suffer dramatically. The capital would be the only leading global city and the only region of the UK not to have a dedicated promotional body.
Nigel Milton from BAA, Peter Vernon from Grosvenor and Beverley Aspinall of Fortnum & Mason were among those in the tourism industry who signed a letter to Mr Cable.
They were joined by law firms and property companies concerned about inward investment, and the vice-chancellors of universities including King's College London and UCL, who are worried about attracting foreign students.
They wrote: “We are extremely concerned that there does not appear to be any direct funding of London's economic development from the spending review, and would like reassurances that the Government, collectively, will rectify this urgently.
“At this critical time of fragile economic recovery and with the Olympic Games less than two years away, it is vital to the London and UK economy that momentum is not lost.”
Their plea comes after the Treasury's surprise decision to pull the plug on the £480 million London Development Agency, which has forced Boris Johnson to lobby Whitehall departments for more funds. The Mayor said he was “optimistic” the money — less than £20 million a year — could be found.
Think London, Visit London and Study London — which help raise billions of pounds for the capital every year — were already due to be merged into a single promotional agency.
Visit London receives £11.7 million a year from the LDA, while Think London gets £5.5 million and Study London gets £150,000.
Senior staff have privately accused Mr Johnson of “taking his eye off the ball” over LDA funding.
Foreign direct investment contributed a total of £52 billion to the London economy last year, while international students contributed £1.5 billion and overnight visitors spent £10.6 billion.
Baroness Valentine, chief executive of London First which was behind the letter, said: “Now, more than ever, the Government needs to ensure adequate funding is in place to support London's economic development.”
