HC Deb 06 May 2004 vol 420 cc1722-3W
Mr. Swayne

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland where the first meeting of the Social Economy Forum in June 2003 was held; and how many attended, and what the cost of the meeting was. [170071]

Mr. Pearson

The first meeting of the Social Economy Forum was held at the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action premises in Belfast. There were 26 attendees, evenly split between social economy sectoral representatives and Government officials. Room hire and catering costs were £310.

Mr. Swayne

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the(a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05 budget at the disposal of the (i) Social Economy Forum and (ii) Social Economy Agency is. [170072]

Mr. Pearson

The Social Economy Forum is a policy platform. The Forum of itself has no budget but as a policy platform it seeks to influence how others utilise their resources to develop the social economy sector.

£600,000 has been made available to the Social Economy Agency over a four-year period (2002–06). This is to establish and service a new high-level sectoral representative body, the Social Economy Network and its committees.

Mr. Swayne

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff are employed in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment's inter-departmental steering group on the social economy. [170073]

Mr. Pearson

None. The Inter-Departmental Steering Group (IDSG) consists of senior officials from all 11 Northern Ireland Departments. It meets three to four times per year and considers how departmental policies and programmes can support the growth of the sector, encourage greater cross-departmental co-operation and identify key action points to increase the sector's potential to build 'social capital' and create wealth and jobs, particularly in disadvantaged areas.