§ Mr. Gwynfor Evansasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what amounts were paid in grants for building and maintenance of community centres which were integrated in, or independent of, schools or other educational buildings in each of the years 1955 to 1975 in Wales and England, respectively.
§ Mr. Gerry FowlerAn analysis of actual grant expenditure in the form requested could not be provided without disproportionate cost, but the allocations of grant to community centres and village halls over the period 1957 to 1975, as published in the Department's Annual Reports, are set out below. Grant allocations for community centres alone cannot be distinguished.
Grants are made by the Department of Education and Science only in respect of capital projects carried out by voluntary organisations: no grant is paid for maintenance costs. Such projects may also be grant-aided by local authorities, and the authorities themselves provide community centres, but their expenditure on these purposes is not known to the Department.
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Table: Capital Grant Allocations for Voluntary Community Centre and Village Hall Projects (Source: DES Annual Reports). Year England Wales £ £ 000s 000s 1957 156 19 1958 160 21 1959 160 16 1960 217 18 1961 278 38 1962 180 20 1963 255 25 1964 614 43 1965 394 5 1966 370 10 1967 435 20 1968 521 33 1969 484 34 1970 590 57 1971* 1972 822 106 1973 1,328 108 1974 1,126 60 1975 1,629 161 * Separate figures are not available for this year.