§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he has taken to satisfy himself that the Keep Britain Tidy Group makes effective use of the public funds allocated to it.
§ Mr. WaldegraveDepartmental officials serve on the group's executive and finance committees and have regular contact with officers of the group and are thus in close touch with the group's activities and the way in which the grant is used.
In 1982, the Department commissioned a value for money review of the group's activities. The review team concluded that the group gave value for money in promoting the prevention and control of litter. The group's community environment programme, which it implements with the co-operation of local authorities, includes photomeasurement techniques to measure the effectiveness of the programme in litter abatement locally.
Local officers of the Manpower Services Commission inspect individual projects involving staff employed by the group under the MSC's community programme.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total amount of public funds given in each of the last five years to the Keep Britain Tidy Group.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe Keep Britain Tidy Group receive money from this Department by way of a grant under the Litter Act 1983, from the Manpower Services Commission for services and staff under the community programme, from local authorities in return for the provision of services in connection with litter abatement, and from nationalised industries by way of contribution. The respective total amounts in each of the last five years are as follows:
Year Amount £ 1980 349,780 1981 904,790 1982 1,483,470 *1983/84 3,757,310 1984/85 4,356,070 10,851,420 *15 months