§ Ms Oona KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding will be available to fund organisations helping parents in Tower Hamlets in the next 12 months; and what proportion of funding will be allocated to(a) national organisations and (b) local organisations. [146232]
§ Margaret HodgeFunding in the next financial year—to support parents both nationally and locally—will be available from a number of sources within my department. Our best estimates of the funding options available in Tower Hamlets are as follows:
In the financial year 2004/05 £331,909 is available in Tower Hamlets for groups to apply to the Local Network Fund for Children and Young People.
The Local Network Fund (LNF) provides community groups with small grants to support local projects and activities for 0 to 19-year-olds experiencing disadvantage and social exclusion. The fund enables local people to identify solutions to local issues affecting children and young people through grants ranging between £250 and £7,000 to community groups under four themes: Aspirations and experience; Economic disadvantage; Isolation and access; and Children's voices. Groups whose activities support parenting, involve or target parents, providing there is a clear outcome for children and young people are eligible to apply for a Local Network Fund grant.
Decisions on allocating funding are made by assessment panels comprising local people with knowledge of issues faced by children and young people in the communities served by the funds.
Funding for Sure Start local programmes and children's centres in Tower Hamlets over the next financial year is as follows:
120W
Programme name Revenue funding 2004/05 (£) Ocean Estate 764,650 Chrisp Street and Teviot 761,063 Weavers 768,750 Around Poplar 750,000 Shadwell 750,000 St. Peter's and Redcoats 750,000 Bromley to Burden 680,000 In addition each local programme has been allocated a capital grant of just over £1 million bringing the total capital investment to £7.7 million.
For children's centres Tower Hamlets has been given indicative funding to March 2006. Revenue funding is £1,621,304 and capital funding is £4,472,384. The local authority is now planning their proposed profile of spend between now and March 2006.
In the financial year 2004/05, £75,000 is available to Tower Hamlets from the Sure Start Plus pilot programme to provide personal support and advice for teenagers who discover that they are pregnant, so that they can make responsible and well-informed decisions according to their individual circumstances.
In the financial year 2004/05, approximately £35,000 from all Tower Hamlets Sure Start local programmes will provide a teenage pregnancy midwifery lead for teenage parents offering one-to-one case worker support, running teenage parent ante-natal classes and developing working protocols for maternity services in supporting this group.
Tower Hamlets received a Teenage Pregnancy Local Implementation Grant of £25,258 to enable adjustments to George Greens Children's Centre to support teenage parents with babies in returning to education, training and employment and support positive parenting.
Tower Hamlets Children's Fund spent £200,649 on services delivering parental education during July to September 2003. Further funding will be available in 2004–05 to enable the Children's Fund to continue to deliver preventative services for children, young people and their families.
Tower Hamlets also has an allocation of over £62 million for children's social services in 2004–05 through the local government finance settlement, some of which may be available to support organisations helping parents.
Projects in Tower Hamlets may also benefit from national programmes such as the Family Support Grant and Parenting Fund. Parents in all parts of England are able to use Parentline Plus's helpline which receives core funding from the Family Support Grant.