§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the value for money achieved by the Rural Development Project in Poland. [49162]
§ Clare ShortThis project was formally reviewed in June 2001 and has been monitored on a regular basis since then. It is an institutional building project focused at national and local government levels, NGOs and civil society. The project is assisting the Polish authorities in changing the way regional planning is implemented in line with good EU practice by the instruction of a more participative and bottom-up approach to decision-making processes.
DFID assessments have shown that the project is providing value for money in terms of its impact on (i) the progress being made in the Lubelski voivodship in building local capacity and networks and (ii) links being made into the national policy debate to inform regional policy in preparation for Poland's accession to the EU and its future effective use of structural funds.