§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what length of period it is considered that local projects funded by the Voluntary Services Unit should run before valid conclusions are drawn about their national significance.
§ Mr. JohnEach project is different, but a three-year period would normally be considered sufficient to provide conclusions of use to others with similar interests.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the local projects that have been grant aided by the Voluntary Services Unit in the current financial year, stating how much each project received.
§ Mr. JohnThe amounts allocated to organisations or projects engaging in non-national activities are as follows:
£ Westminster Pastoral Foundation 26,000 Check Rights Centre 2,400 Outset 14,050 NACRO Hammersmith project 47,000 The Cresset 30,000 Elfrida Rathbone, Liverpool 9,000 Wandsworth Council for Community Relations 4,000 Community Transport 20,300 Brixton Neighbourhood Community Association 24,500 Melting Pot 24,000 Handicapped Adventure Playground Association 7,000 Family First 5,000 Onward Industries 37,000 Newham Community Renewal 21,000 Scoutreach (Nottingham) 3,500 Lambeth Community Trust 50,000 Swindon Viewpoint 3,750 LCSS Community Work Service 29,575 Family Day Centres Project 99,707 South Wales Anti Poverty Committee 35,950 Gulbenkian Area Resource Centre 35,000 Metropolitan County Councils of Voluntary Service 46,600 Girls Alone in London Service 10,000 West End Co-ordinated Voluntary Services 56,200 It is not yet possible to say whether each organisation or project will receive the full sum allocated since this depends on the relationship between estimates and actual expenditure.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money during the current financial year 642W the Voluntary Services Unit have committed to organisations with national activities, giving a breakdown for each project.
§ Mr. JohnThe amounts committed for this financial year are as follows:
£ Women's Royal Voluntary Service 2,190,000 Young Volunteer Force Foundation 323,205 National Council of Social Service 243,000 Volunteer Centre 182,000 Community Service Volunteers 155,000 Pre-Retirement Association 11,000 National Youth Bureau—Voluntary Opportunities Digest 2,100 Cruse Clubs Limited 23,000 Child Poverty Action Group 10,000 Young Volunteer Resource Module 24,000 Romany Guild 2,187 British Council for Aid to Refugees 45,000 Fair Play for Children Campaign 26,000 SHAC 21,250 Albany Trust 12,000 National Playing Fields Association 42,750 Action Resource Centre 10,000 Release 21,000 Gingerbread 17,400 Contact 8,500 British Association of Settlements 15,500 BAS Adult Literacy Organiser 11,200 After Six Housing Advisory Trust 12,000 National Association of Widows 4,300 National Association of Community Relations Councils 6,000 Central Council for the Disabled 9,000 British Council of Churches 10,800 National Association of Indian Youth 12,000 Runnymede Trust 14,000 National Association of Youth Clubs 30,000 Advisory Committee for the Education of Romany and other Travellers 5,500 After Six Leaflet 50 Task Force 22,055 Board of Social Responsibility 4,000 Returned Volunteer Action 6,250 Welsh Council of Social Service 2,702
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total amount of funds available from the Voluntary Services Unit during the period 1976–77; and what proportion of these funds is for national and local projects.
§ Mr. JohnThe total sum available to the Voluntary Services Unit for 1976–77 643W is £4,592,000. Although this is intended primarily to help national organisations, no specific proportion is allocated either to national or to local work.
§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are employed by the Voluntary Services Unit, other than that projects should be innovatory and a venture into a previously untried field, when decisions are taken concerning the funding of local projects.
§ Mr. JohnAs with all VSU funding, the work concerned must span the interests of several Government Departments or fall within the responsibility of none of them. Where this is the case, each application is judged on its merits after consultation with other interested departments and, where appropriate, the relevant local authority.