§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what information he collects on the application of grants paid through the single regeneration budget, their efficacy and effectiveness. [60155]
§ Mr. McNultyI have been asked to reply.
The regional development agencies are responsible for administering the single regeneration budget at regional level. The RDAs collect information on grant expenditure and performance data from the regeneration partnerships that manage the individual SRB schemes. The partnerships are required to appraise all projects before grant can be approved. Also, at the end of a scheme, the partnership is required to submit to the RDA a report on the overall achievement of the scheme against the strategic objectives and the end scheme position against the baseline position at the start of the scheme. The RDAs account to the Government for their expenditure, including grant paid to regeneration partnerships under SRB rules, in accordance with detailed reporting requirements and procedures set out in corporate planning 1031W and other guidance issued to the RDAs. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister also collects data from the RDAs on selected outputs generated by SRB schemes.
In addition, the Department has commissioned the Department of Land Economy at the University of Cambridge to undertake an eight-year evaluation of the SRB programme. A mid-term report of the evaluation, based on 10 case study SRB partnerships whose activities have completed, was published in January. The findings of this report and earlier reports are published on the Department's website.