§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much and what proportion of available moneys the Community Fund has allocated to black and ethnic minority organisations; what evidence he has collated on measures that the Community Fund has taken to promote(a) sustainability and (b) capacity building in the black and ethnic minority voluntary sector. [51783]
§ Mr. CabornSince its establishment in 1995, 11 per cent. of the Community Fund's grants have gone to the black and minority ethnic (BME) voluntary sector. During the financial year 2000–01, Community Fund made 1,183 grants to projects benefiting BME groups. This represents 12.1 per cent. of their total allocation. Of these, 47 grants, worth £8.6 million were made to projects designed to help capacity building in the BME voluntary sector.
The Community Fund's Strategic Plan for 2002–07 highlights the BME community as one of their priority beneficiary groups and includes revised funding policies which will encourage greater sustainability.