§ Mr. MaddenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much funding his Department has granted the Groundwork Foundation in each of the last three years; in which areas the Groundwork Foundation intends to establish environmental trusts next year, funded by his Department or local authorities; and what contact there has been between his officials, representatives of the Groundwork Foundation and elected members or officials of Bradford council about Bradford council making a grant available for 1990–91.
§ Mr. TrippierThe Department took over the core funding of the Groundwork Foundation and trusts from the Countryside Commission on 1 April 1988, through the commission continues to pay project grants to individual Trusts. We allocated £1,500,000 to Groundwork for core-funding in 1988–89 and £1,743,000 in 1989–90.
The foundation plans to establish five trusts in 1990–91, in Bolsover, Blackburn, Nottingham, Bradford and Islwyn. The core costs of these trusts will be funded by the Department, local authorities and the private sector.
I understand that an officer of the Groundwork Foundation has met the leader of Bradford city council, Councillor Eric Pickles, and council officials to discuss the council's request to the foundation to establish a trust in their area.