§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what purpose his Department is making a grant to the British Youth Council; what sums have been paid in each of the last five years; and what steps are taken to monitor the expenditure.
66W
Mr. GuardThe grant-in-aid supports the British Youth Council in representing the interests of our young people in European and international youth fora. It helps to meet administration costs, including its membership subscription to the Council of European National Youth Committees and the costs of young people taking part in specified projects with Eastern European countries in pursuance of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Payments made or proposed over the last five years were:
- 1977–78—£15,000 for administration costs and £7,200 for Eastern European projects.
- 1976–77—£9,000 for administration costs, £4,496 for Western European projects and £5,917 for Eastern European projects.
- 1975–76—£14,066 for administration and projects costs.
- 1974–75—£15,000 for administration and projects costs.
- 1973–74—£10,500 for administration and projects costs.
The grant for administration costs which is normally paid quarterly is based on annual estimates of income and expenditure provided by the Council. When applying for the third instalment the Council provides a statement showing income and expenditure for the first six months of the year. Payments in respect of the specified projects with Eastern European countries are made in arrears on receipt of detailed statements of expenditure by the Council. Audited annual accounts are provided and the Comptroller and Auditor General has the right of access to the books of account.