Come back England all is forgiven

The rumour mill is running hot on the tourism review - a move out of London, a new office in Bristol and a new agency - Visit England. Sometimes consultation is so inconvenient - people will give their opinions - and the overwhelming view is that the development of England as a visitor destination is lost in Visit Britain. That's not the fault of the people who work there, they were given an impossible job and it hasn't worked. And so once more to the question of money - who will pay for this? The begging bowl is going around the usual suspects - the private sector, the Regional Development Agencies, 'partners', and they are playing a game of pass the parcel with 'Not me Guv' as the common response. When will they notice in Whitehall that the world has changed and the creation of RDA's and devolution in Scotland and Wales means that its time to draw a new map? What a shame for Christopher Rodrigues - he seems a very able and thoroughly decent man - he deserves better.