§ Mr. Proctorasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what proportion of the grant-in-aid paid to the Equal Opportunities Commission over the past five years has been used to finance (a) special groups and (b) research projects; and if he will make a statement;
(2) how much grant-in-aid has been paid by his Department to the Equal Opportunities Commission in each year since the commission was established; what proportion of this grant has been spent on salaries and expenses; and if he will estimate the level of grant for 1983–84.
§ Mr. WaddingtonThe grant-in-aid paid to the commission since 1976–77 and the proportion of the grant spent on the remuneration and expenses of commission members and staff are as follows:
Total grant-in-aid £ Proportion spent on remuneration and expenses Per cent. 1976–77 850,430 61.1 1977–78 1,460,699 49.2 1978–79 1,644,650 51.75 1979–80 2,146,109 49.5 1980–81 2,520,270 57.9 1981–82 2,911,000 55 1982–83* 3,076,000 56 * Estimate. The grant-in-aid for 1983–84 will be published in due course in the Supply Estimates.
The commission has power, under section 54 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, to make grants to assist individuals or organisations in their research or educational activities and to commission research. The proportion of the total grant-in-aid spent on these activities since 1977–78 is as follows: 218W
Grants to individuals and organisations Per cent. Commissioned research Per cent. 1977–78 3.7 0.95 1978–79 3.37 0.76 1979–80 3.44 2.00 1980–81 4.00 2.3 1981–82 4.8 3.56 1982–83* 3.5 3.00 * Estimate. It is for the Commission to determine what proportion of its total budget should be made available for the purposes described in section 54.