§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the number and value of(a) bids and (b) grants made in each of the last three financial years for which figures are available, for each (i) area-based and (ii) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible. [119801]
99W
§ Mr. Wills[holding answer 20 April 2000]: The information is not available in the format requested for all potentially relevant initiatives. The Department has adopted a range of approaches to provide support for those individuals most affected by deprivation, because we recognise that competitive bidding is not always the most effective method. The following examples demonstrate that range:
in the bidding process for Education Action Zones we received 60 bids for the 25 available places in the first round of Education Action Zones and 123 bids for the 50 available places in the second round for which 48 places were actually awarded. First round zones receive £750,000 in Government grant per year with the zone expected to raise a further £250,000 sponsorship from the private sector. Second round zones receive grant of £500,000 with a further £250,000 available on a pound for pound matched funding basis for every pound sponsorship raised from the private sector;the Neighbourhood Support Fund(NSF) will annually help at least 15,000 of the most disaffected and disengaged 13 to 19-year-olds to re-connect with education, training and employment opportunities. Between 1999–2000 and 2001–02 £60 million will be made available to support some 700 NSF projects that will test the effectiveness of a variety of approaches to re-engaging the disaffected young. Some of these do not involve competitive bidding. The individual members of the Learning Alliance (CSV, NACRO, Rathbone CI, and the YMCA), will be funding NSF projects directly via their local affiliates in the 40 target areas, at a total annual cost for projects of £2 million. The National Youth Agency (NYA), working closely with local authority youth services, will identify potential NSF projects and then select the most promising to fund. The NYA is currently processing applications for NSF support from more than 150 community/voluntary organisations, with a total value of approximately £5 million. The NYA aims to fund 80 projects per annum at a combined yearly cost of £3 million. The Community Development Foundation (CDF) has invited competitive bids from community and voluntary groups and has received more than 1,300 applications for NSF funding, with a total value of around £26 million. Some 400 projects have been approved to date. The CDF will eventually support about 600 projects, at an annual cost of £12 million;Excellence in Cities(EiC) is not a traditional bidding programme. Forty-seven local authorities, responsible for city schools, have been invited to become part of the programme and are guaranteed funding provided they meet quality assessment thresholds;the approach for establishing Employment Zones involved an open and competitive bidding process to run a commercial operation where bids were assessed, against published criteria, by independent consultants;to support early years education, we are making specific grants available to Local Education Authorities (from September 1999–March 2002) to almost double the number of three year olds in early education places. While this new money is not geared towards any regeneration initiatives it is being targeted on those children with greatest social need. This money does not form part of any bidding process.