§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether his Department will, as a matter of practice, inform independent agencies which have been successful in applications for urban aid when sums are disbursed to local authorities for the benefit of the agencies' work;
(2) whether he will require local authorities to pass on funds to the independent agencies which have been successful in applications for urban aid as soon as they are received by the local authority from his Department.
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonNo. The first suggestion would complicate administration and the second would interfere unreasonably with the discretion of local authorities to arrange outlay of their expenditure on approved urban programme projects as they think fit.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, because a number of the successful applicants for urban aid are non-statutory bodies, he will widen the Government decision-making body to include representatives from the non-statutory sector so as to enable participation to take place at all levels.
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonDecisions on Government grant aid under the urban programme must be taken by Ministers, because they involve the disbursement of public funds for which they are responsible to Parliament. My right hon. Friend's own general responsibility for voluntary service enables us to take account of the interests of non-statutory bodies.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will require local authorities in future urban aid phases to refer all applications from non-statutory organisations, whether they support them or not, to his Department for further consideration at a higher level.
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonUrban programme grant is payable only when the local authority itself has proposed to incur expenditure, whether in the form of244W assistance to a voluntary body or otherwise, and this has been approved by the Department, but the hon. Member should write to us about any particular difficulties he has encountered in this procedure.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to set up joint consultative procedures at a local level between local authorities and voluntary organisations to establish jointly the projects which should have priority, both statutory and voluntary, in submission to his Department under the urban aid programme.
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonIt is for local authorities to decide what expenditure in the performance of their functions they wish to propose in any area of special social need. We have no doubt that local authorities greatly value the help that voluntary organisations can give, and the principle of local consultation has our full support.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider, as a prerequisite to the determination of any application for urban aid by a non-statutory organisation, the production of a report on that application by those with experience with voluntary organisations.
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonIn general, we think that local authorities can be relied on to assess and report the merits and priority of individual proposals from non-statutory organisations that they are prepared to support.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will require local authorities, as a condition of grants under the urban aid programme, to indicate on each submission the nature and extent of participation at a local level that has taken place on each application, whether for a statutory or non-statutory project.
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonLocal authorities are asked to state in respect of each application whether voluntary organisations and/or local residents have been consulted and if so with what result.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set 245W up a special panel supported by public money with powers to finance projects which were either not included in the local authority list for funding under the urban aid programme, or which were so included but were not successful, in his Department's allocation.
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonNo. My right hon. Friend has no power to pay grant under the Local Government Grants (Social Need) Act 1969 except on approved expenditure by local authorities; and there must be some limit to the financial commitment. However, he is considering a number of points concerning the interest of voluntary bodies in the programme.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will set up machinery in his Department to evaluate on-going projects which have been funded under the urban aid programme, so that the projects can be reviewed before each annual instalment of grants given for periods of years is paid;
(2) in view of the harmful consequences that follow from awarding grants under the urban aid programme for community development projects for one year only, if he will consider awarding such grants for a minimum period of three years so as to provide continuity for projects in areas of high urban deprivation and where the community is insecure and suspicious because of the social pathology.
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonUnder present arrangements grant aid under the urban programme is usually payable for each of five years. In our view some such initial degree of continuity is generally desirable, though financial or other considerations may preclude this in some cases. Subject to this, it is for the local authority to decide whether to continue support of particular approved schemes from year to year, and to claim grant accordingly.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it a condition of grants under the urban aid programme that local authorities should designate someone with financial acumen to assist voluntary organisations in the preparation of applications.
246W
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonIt has already been suggested in urban programme circulars that local authorities should invite voluntary organisations, before preparing their applications in detail, to discuss any points of doubt or difficulty with the authority's officers most closely concerned. We do not think it would be helpful to be more specific than this.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will take steps to make the existence of each phase of the urban aid programme more widely known to those community groups and organisations which are not generally within established voluntary networks;
(2) if he will issue an additional circular contemporaneous with his urban aid circulars to local authorities, and couched in simpler language, intended to be received by these community groups and organisations which are not gene-ally within established voluntary networks.
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonLocal authorities are encouraged to give publicity to urban programme circulars and the Home Office distributes copies to a wide variety of voluntary bodies. Notes for general guidance for voluntary organisations are also available on request. We think that guidance on matters of detail is best left to local inquiry and discussion but we are always willing to consider suggestions for improving present arrangements.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set aside a minimum percentage of the total sum made available each year to urban aid, on both capital and revenue phases, to be used solely to satisfy applications by non-statutory bodies.
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonProjects sponsored by local authorities on behalf of non-statutory bodies are submitted and approved each year on merit: we do not propose to earmark funds in advance but if the hon. Member knows of any particular difficulties in the present arrangements he should write to us.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the criteria on which his Department determines applications for assistance under the urban aid programme.
247W
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonApplications are considered by several Departments which may be concerned, in addition to the Home Office. Priorities accorded to projects by local authorities are important. In addition to this, we consider it desirable to administer the programme flexibly in the light of changing needs and experience rather than be tied by set criteria.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the exact amounts which have been paid out each year under the urban aid programme since its inception, for capital and revenue projects, respectively.
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonGrants under the Local Government Grants (Social Need) Act 1969 have been paid to local authorities in England and Wales at the rate of 75 per cent. of expenditure on approved projects as follows:—
I regret that these amounts cannot be separated between capital and revenue projects without disproportionate effort.
£ 1969–70 1,212,638 1970–71 2,104,143 1971–72 2,918,286 1972–73 5,427,281 1973–74 7,531,789 Total 19,194,137