APPENDIX 57
Letter from Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP, Department
for Culture, Media and Sport, to the Chairman of the Committee
(OB 122)
When I appeared before the Committee on 29 January
to give evidence on my Department's role in tackling obesity,
I undertook to provide a note on the allocation of funding under
the New Opportunities PE and Sport programme, following my exchange
with Simon Burns.
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
PE AND SPORT
PROGRAMME (NOPES)
This programme was announced by the Prime Minister
in 2000, where he underlined the fact that this would be a long-term
project (5-6 years) to create state of the art facilities for
areas with the greatest need. An investment such as this, the
largest single programme investment in school sport, takes considerable
time and planning to ensure that funds are spent effectively.
At the formal launch of the programme, in November
2001, it was intended that all funds would be committed by 2005.
Local Education Authorities (LEAs) were notified of their total
funds. In fact, the majority of the NOPES funding will be committed
by the end of 2004—ahead of the planned 2005 deadline. In
addition, the majority of the new facilities will be in use by
Spring 2006 as was intended in the original timetable.
The point was also raised that only £8.5
million has been spent out of the £750 million. Current spend
is, in fact, £23 million. The reason for this seemingly low
figure is that even after awards are made there is still some
way to go before the funding is actually drawn down as the majority
of projects go through tendering and planning processes before
work can commence. However, current information does show that
£271m has been awarded to 810 projects, highlighting again
the fact that this programme is on target to meet its deadlines.
This is a large and ambitious programme, delivering
significant new facilities for school children and the community.
Besides offering sporting opportunities, it will also have a long-term
impact on key issues facing local communities such as education,
health, crime and drugs use.
2 April 2004
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