§ Mr. Peter DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport under which section of its remit funds from the National Lottery are provided for funding community land purchases; and how much has been used for this purpose in(a) Scotland and (b) the UK to date. [42529]
§ Mr. CabornStatutory policy directions set by the Government determine the type of activities the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) can support under its programmes.
Under its directions for the Green Spaces and Sustainable Communities programme NOF has committed £10.78 million to the Scottish Land Fund, administered for NOF by Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Since February 2001 the Scottish Land Fund has awarded 17 grants for acquisition purposes totalling £4,084,613. This programme is exclusive to Scotland and no other NOF funds have been allocated for community land purchases in the UK.