Local Development Agency Fund (Hansard, 19 March 1987)

§ Mr. Hurd

This fund was established jointly by my Department, the Department of the Environment, the Department of Health and Social Security and the Department of Transport and has available to it approximately £1 million a year for a three-year period. Its aim is to strengthen the voluntary sector locally by making grants to new or already existing local development agencies. Typically, but not exclusively, these are "generalist" bodies like councils for voluntary service or volunteer bureaux; but all of these exist to provide practical support and encouragement for the voluntary groups on their areas, to provide a forum in which different groups can meet together and share information and experience, to stimulate volunteering, and to promote more effective working relationships between voluntary bodies and statutory agencies. The fund is administered by a committee which is broadly representative of the voluntary sector and which includes representatives of both local and central Government. It is a requirement that all applications for grants should be supported by a local authority willing to provide not less than 30 per cent. of the total sum requested. Applicants must also show that their proposed activity is supported by voluntary bodies in their areas.

After its consideration of a first round of applications, the fund had awarded 57 grants to several different kinds of development agency. These agencies are widely spread geographically and represent both urban and rural areas. Although the fund committee was, from the start, anxious to recognise the needs of groups representing ethnic minority organisations and to receive applications from them the first response here was disappointing. A second round of applications was, therefore, invited with its emphasis on the desire to encourage and strengthen development work in the ethnic minority voluntary sector. Since then, the fund has offered a further 14 grants for this purpose.