§ Mr. CashTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much each body funded under the European Community Action Programme received in grants in each of the last five years; how much was received by branches of each body in the UK in each year; and on what criteria decisions on making grants are based. [161396]
§ Caroline Flint[holding answer 17 March 2004]: This is not a question any Government Department can answer fully at this time.
Unfortunately, the Commission will not undertake an evaluation of the programme up until the end of 2003, as this was not built into the funding until now. It was impractical to carry out an evaluation because this was Commission funding, which member states have no involvement in or oversight of and the information needed to carry out such an evaluation is unavailable.
A list of bodies that received past funding from the programme and the amounts these bodies received are in the letter of 3 March from myself to the Chairman of European Scrutiny Committee and attached spreadsheet which has been placed in the Library.
There will be a full evaluation of the grants starting in 2004.
The grant process and criteria for decision making are described in the proposal for the establishment of the European Community Action Programme which has been placed in the Library.