§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if his Department already finances any projects whose scale, aims and purpose compare with those of the proposed "Ability" project of Community Service Volunteers; and if he will publish details of any such projects in the Official Report;
(2) what aspects of the proposed "Ability" project of Community Service Volunteers he is considering; if he is in contact with Community Service Volunteers about the project; what estimate he has made of the cost-effectiveness of the project; and to what extent his Department will be supporting the project financially.
§ Mr. RossiThe Community Service Volunteer (CSV) "School Concern" project—forerunner of "Ability"—was grant-aided by the Department as a local experimental project with possible national application from 1979 to 1981. It received a total of about £70,000. I recently considered a grant application from CSV for the "Ability" project, but decided that further Departmental support of such localised activity, even on an experimental basis, was not justified.
We are, however, funding the CSV "Able to Help" scheme which is national in scope and has similar aims of increasing awareness of the skills and abilities of disabled people by deploying them in community work. This scheme currently receives a grant of £6,000.