§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what guidelines govern the eligibility of local authorities for neighbourhood renewal funding. [18667]
§ Ms KeebleThe list of authorities eligible for the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund has been determined by taking those authorities that are among the 50 most deprived on any of the six measures in the Indices of Deprivation 2000. On this basis 81 authorities would be eligible. In addition, there are transitional arrangements for those authorities that were within the 50 most deprived areas on any of the four measures under the old Index of Local Deprivation, but are not in the list of 81 authorities that qualify using the Indices of Deprivation 2000. Therefore, a further seven local authority areas are eligible for the Fund.
The funding each authority receives is intended to be related to the severity of the deprivation within its area. The sum they receive is based on a standard amount per head of population that live in wards in the most deprived 10 per cent. on the Indices of Deprivation 2000. This is underpinned by a minimum allocation of £200,000 in 2001–02 for authorities with no wards in the most deprived 10 per cent.