§ Ms Jenny JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what method of scoring was used to assess the 1998 bids for funding under Objective 3 of the European Social Fund programme. [44418]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithKey principles of the 1998 Objective 3 scoring process were that it should be impartial and transparent, with the aim of selecting the best quality projects which met the needs of the Objective 3 client groups. Selection criteria and a scoring framework were developed in consultation with regional partners, and endorsed by the Objective 3 National Monitoring Committee.
Projects were assessed against four main areas: labour market justification, integration, beneficiary analysis and outcomes. Each region also had flexibility to influence the scoring process to reflect regional aims and priorities.
§ Ms Jenny JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the definition of unemployed for the purposes of the bids for funding under Objective 3 of the 1998 European Social Fund's programme. [44419]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithFor the purposes of the European Social Fund (ESF), the general definition of unemployment is a period where a person is not in paid employment. Registration with the Employment Service is not required as evidence of unemployment. A more detailed definition of unemployment is in the ESF 1998 Applications Guidance part 1, which is available in the Library.
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§ Ms Jenny JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how the scoring of bids for funding under Objective 3 of the 1998 European Social Fund's programme was monitored for accuracy. [44426]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithObjective 3 Regional Committees and the Committees for Scotland, Wales and Gibraltar are responsible for the implementation of Objective 3 in their areas, in line with the Single Programming Document for Great Britain. A sub-committee of the Great Britain Monitoring Committee deals with national projects.
Regional and national scoring panels held standard setting exercises and took steps to maintain standards and to moderate scores. Scorers operated in pairs and switched around regularly. Some projects were re-scored by different scorers to ensure consistency in approach. Panel chairs ensured the impartiality and veracity of the process.
Applicants were informed of their scores and were given the opportunity to challenge them, and to appeal formally against the decision of the relevant Committee or GB National Monitoring Committee.
§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of his Department's preparedness to meet the 1 January 2000 start date for the Agenda 2000 Structural Fund Programme. [43838]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithNegotiation of the Commission's proposed Regulations for the Structural Funds in the period 2000 to 2006 have begun during the UK Presidency of the EU. Good progress is being made. It is too early to determine the detailed implementation of the new Funds but my Department will be ready to administer the European Social Fund from its agreed start date.
§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proposals he has to speed up payments to voluntary sector organisations running projects under the European Social Fund. [43846]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 27 March 1998,Official Report, column 337.
§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the costs were in each year since 1990 of administering European Structural Fund programmes in England. [43840]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithThe figures in the table show the running costs of the European Social Fund in the Department for Education and Employment, and include some costs associated with the administration of ESF in Scotland and Wales which it is not possible to identify separately. The increase since 1990 is due to the increase in the sums administered in Great Britain and to the increasing complexity of the work involved.
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European social fund unit: running costs budget Year 1990–91 0.531 1991–92 0.808 1992–93 1.410 1993–94 1.701 1994–95 2.212 1995–96 2.387 1996–97 2.557 1997–98 2.705
§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many permanent and short-term staff are employed by his Department to administer(a) the European Social Fund, (b) the European Regional Development Fund and (c) other European Structural Fund programmes in the United Kingdom. [43845]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithThe Department for Education and Employment Head Office currently has 87.6 permanent staff in post on the administration of the84W European Social Fund (ESF). It also has 30 short term staff in post to cope with peaks in workload, equivalent to 12.5 full-time posts averaged over the whole year. None of our full-time staff is involved in the administration of the European Regional Development Fund, but about 0.5 per cent. of a permanent post is involved in policy matters.
The equivalent of approximately 40 full time posts from this Department are funded by the DfEE in the Government Offices for the regions on the administration of the European Structural Fund programmes.