§ Alistair BurtTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations have been made in relation to the administrative bum en associated with the New Opportunities Fund 3 programme; and if she will make a statement. [166467]
§ Mr. CabornMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received correspondence from the hon. Member for Enfield, Southgate (Stephen Twigg) on behalf of his242W constituent, Mr. M. Lazarus, of Hadley Wood. My right. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills has also received correspondence from Bedfordshire County Council on this matter.
The New Opportunities Fund for PE and Sport (NOPES) programme is administered by the New Opportunities Fund (NOF). NOF has worked closely with local authorities throughout the bidding process to ensure that levels of bureaucracy are kept to the minimum necessary to protect the distribution of public funds.
§ Alistair BurtTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the start date was of the New Opportunities Fund 3 project; what the projected expenditure on this programme was over its period; what the actual expenditure on this programme has been during that time; and if she will make a statement. [166468]
§ Mr. CabornThe New Opportunities Fund for PE and Sport (NOPES) was officially launched in England in November 2001 with available funding of £581.25 million.
NOPES is a long-term project, reflecting the fact that such an investment takes considerable time and planning to ensure that money is spent both efficiently and effectively. Actual expenditure to date is £10.4 million.
It is anticipated that the majority of NOPES funding will be committed by the end of 2004, well ahead of schedule, with the great majority of new facilities in use by spring 2006, in line with the original timetable.
§ Alistair BurtTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement about the progress of the New Opportunities Fund 3 initiative to improve sports facilities in schools. [166469]
§ Mr. CabornThe New Opportunities Fund for PE and Sport (NOPES) was officially launched in England in November 2001 with available funding of £581.25 million.
NOPES is a long-term project, reflecting the fact that such an investment takes considerable time and planning to ensure that money is spent both efficiently and effectively. Actual expenditure to date is £10.4 million.
It is anticipated that the majority of NOPES funding will be committed by the end of 2004, well ahead of schedule, with the great majority of new facilities in use by Spring 2006, in line with the original timetable.
§ Alistair BurtTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list those to whom a grant under the New Opportunities Fund 3 programme has been awarded where the award has been transferred from the Department to the school in recognition of works taking place. [166471]
243W
§ Mr. CabornNew Opportunities Fund grants for PE and Sport are allocated and paid to local authorities and not direct to schools. Details of grants paid to local authorities, based on invoices submitted, are being placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
§ Alistair BurtTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the awards made under the New Opportunities Fund 3 programme, broken down by(a) county and (b) amount. [166470]
§ Mr. CabornNew Opportunities Fund awards for PE and Sport are made to local authorities and not to counties. Details of local authority allocations for England, grouped by region, are being placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money from the New Opportunities Fund was allocated to Birkenhead in each year since 1997. [166505]
§ Estelle MorrisThe New Opportunities Fund made its first grant to the Birkenhead area in 1999. Since then, in each calendar year, it has allocated:
£ Award amount 1999 5,687,368 2000 1,249,862 2001 1,909,933 2002 420,305 2003 383,372 These numbers are derived from the Department's database of lottery awards, which is based on information supplied by New Opportunities Fund (and the other distributing bodies).