§ Yvette CooperTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the grants and awards that require bids from applicants which his Department is responsible for administering and awarding(a) nationally and (b) that people and groups within Wakefield Metropolitan District are eligible to bid for; if he will publish the deadlines for these applications; and if he will produce this list on a regular basis. [51269]
§ Mr. FisherThe only grants of this type which we administer are the Museums Challenge Fund, set up to assist the national museums and galleries in England which currently offer free access to continue to do so; the DCMS/Wolfson Foundation Public Libraries Challenge Fund, available to all local authorities in England and with a deadline for 1998–99 of 12 June 1998; and the Heritage Grant Fund in England.
Grants from the Heritage Grant Fund are normally restricted to national voluntary organisations or to voluntary bodies undertaking projects of national significance.
Exceptionally, local organisations may be awarded a grant for projects which are particularly innovative and may be used as an exemplar. This year's scheme is likely to have a deadline of the end of September. Individual grant schemes receive wide publicity, and we have no plans to produce a list of this sort on a regular basis.