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7 Apr 2005 : Column 1593W—continued
Truancy
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils played truant in England in each year since 1997 (a) in total and (b) broken down by local education authority; and if she will make a statement. [220278]
Derek Twigg:
It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
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Woodcraft Folk
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much financial assistance her Department provided to the Woodcraft Folk in each of the last 10 financial years for which figures are available; if she will make in 2005–06 a grant to the Woodcraft Folk equivalent to that made in 2004–05; and if she will make a statement. [223450]
Margaret Hodge: The Woodcraft Folk have received the following funding since 1997, the earliest date for which figures are available:
| Amount (£) | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 39,100 |
| 1998–99 | 33,000 |
| 1999–2000 | 38,000 |
| 2000–01 | 38,000 |
| 2001–02 | 38,000 |
| 2002–03 | 52,281 |
| 2003–04 | 52,281 |
| 2004–05 | 52,281 |
| Total | 342,943 |
Source:
NVYO Grant Scheme
The Woodcraft Folk submitted a bid for funding under the National Voluntary Youth Organisation Grant scheme due to run from 2005 to 2008. This scheme was run as an open competition. Participation on previous schemes was not one of the criteria used to determine funding. The bid was assessed against criteria made explicit in both the application and guidance notes for the scheme.
The key reasons the Woodcraft Folk's bid was unsuccessful was that, in comparison with other bids, it did not provide the level of detail to enable the Department to determine either how the proposed activities would deliver the outcomes specified or how the outcomes specifically linked with the Every Child Matters" agenda.
It is important to emphasise that even though the Woodcraft Folk's bid for funding under the National Voluntary Youth Organisation grant scheme was unsuccessful, this is no reflection on the work it does to promote the well-being of children and young people and their participation in society.
The scheme was open to all national voluntary sector organisations engaged in youth work and who met specific criteria and not just those on the existing scheme. We received 160 bids from a variety of national voluntary organisations which totalled over £44 million for the length of the scheme. As the grant scheme was allocated £21 million over three years we were unable to fund everyone who applied. We assessed all of the bids and awarded grants to those organisations which clearly demonstrated the outcomes and quality the scheme required to an agreed standard.
I met the Woodcraft Folk on the 4 April to discuss their work. As a result of that meeting we agreed to second a member of DfES staff to the Woodcraft Folk
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for 12 months. We hope that that member of staff will be able to support the central organisation by helping it to look for new ways of diversifying the funding streams that it receives so that it secures long-term funding.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for what reasons the Department rejected the grant application from the Woodcraft Folk. [224528]
Margaret Hodge: The criteria by which all decisions about funding under the National Voluntary Youth Organisation (NVYO) grant scheme were made were explicit in both the application forms and guidance notes, to assist organisations through the application process.
The guidance notes clearly stated that applications should make a strong contribution to the achievement of the outcomes for young people set out in Every Child Matters".
Paragraph 13.2 of the application guidance states clearly that the Department would look for bids that:
identified clear and robust outcome indicators that were relevant to the outcomes the bid proposes to deliver
The Woodcraft Folk's bid for funding was unsuccessful because, when compared with other applications, it did not provide the level of detail to enable the Department to determine how the proposed activities would deliver the outcomes that were specified in the criteria. It was also not sufficiently clear, in comparison with other bids, how Woodcraft Folk's outcomes specifically linked with the Every Child Matters" agenda.
It is important to emphasise that even though the Woodcraft Folk's bid for funding under the National Voluntary Youth Organisation grant scheme was unsuccessful, this is no reflection on the work it does to promote the well-being of children and young people and their participation in society.
The scheme was open to all national voluntary sector organisations engaged in youth work and who met specific criteria and not just those on the existing scheme. We received 160 bids from a variety of national voluntary organisations which totalled over £44 million for the length of the scheme. As the grant scheme had been allocated £21 million for the three years we were unable to fund everyone who applied. We assessed all of the bids and awarded grants to those organisations which clearly demonstrated the outcomes and quality the scheme required to an agreed standard.
I met the Woodcraft Folk on the 4 April to discuss their work. As a result of that meeting we agreed to second a member of DfES staff to the Woodcraft Folk for 12 months. We hope that that member of staff will be able to support the central organisation by helping it to look for new ways of diversifying the funding streams that it receives so that it secures long-term funding.
7 Apr 2005 : Column 1596W
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Civil Servants (Relocation)
John Thurso: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many civil servants in his Department have (a) been relocated and (b) been agreed for relocation in the last 12 months; and to which areas of the United Kingdom. [223897]
Yvette Cooper: The information requested is as follows.
(a) 103 posts have already been relocated to the areas set out as follows:
(b) The Office of Deputy Prime Minister is expected to relocate 240 posts by 2010.
Communities Plan
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much of the Communities Plan budget has been allocated to (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside and (c) the north east. [224723]
Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not hold separate expenditure data on (a) the Jarrow constituency.
Expenditure and planned spending on programmes within the Communities Plan for (b) South Tyneside and (c) the north east are set out in the following table. The figures for 2006–07 and 2007–08 exclude programmes for which spending plans have still to be finalised.
| (b) South Tyneside | (c) The North East | |
|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 19.310 | 592.187 |
| 2004–05 | 21.254 | 613.844 |
| 2005–06 | 21.238 | 676.354 |
| 2006–07 | (16)— | 555.157 |
| 2007–08 | (16)— | 572.882 |
| Total | 61.802 | 3,010.424 |
(16) Not available. Budget allocations at district level are yet to be determined.
Council Tax
Hugh Bayley:
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average council tax charge was in (a) City of York,
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(b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) England in (i) 2002–03 and (ii) each year since 2002–03; and what he expects the charge to be in 2005–06. [224814]
Mr. Raynsford: The information requested is the following table.
| £ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | |
| City of York | 874 | 988 | 1,078 | 1,127 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 971 | 1,071 | 1,132 | 1,182 |
| England | 976 | 1,102 | 1,167 | 1,214 |
Source:
Budget requirement returns to ODPM and ODPM news releases.
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average council tax bill was in (a) Labour, (b) Liberal Democrat and (c) Conservative-led local authorities in Yorkshire and the Humber in 2004–05. [224815]
Mr. Raynsford: The average council tax bill by individual local authority in Yorkshire and the Humber in 2004–05 is in the following table. Definitive information on political control is not held centrally:
Source:
Budget requirement returns to ODPM and ODPM news releases.
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the likely impact of council tax revaluation on average council tax bills in real terms in (a) City of York, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) England; and if he will make a statement. [224816]
Mr. Raynsford:
The distribution of dwellings to bands after revaluation will depend on property values as at 1 April 2005 and on decisions yet to be taken on the number and values of council tax bands. The report of the independent inquiry into local government funding by Sir Michael Lyons will inform the Government's
7 Apr 2005 : Column 1598W
decisions on council tax bands. This report is due to be submitted by the end of this year to my right hon. Friends the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Government have already made clear that the revaluation should not lead to a change in the overall council tax yield and consequently most council tax payers are unlikely to face an increase (or decrease) in their council tax bill as a result of revaluation. There will be a transitional relief scheme to help taxpayers whose properties move to a higher band. Council tax benefit will continue to be available to help those on low incomes with their council tax payments.
Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to exempt members of HM armed forces from council tax for periods when they are posted on duties overseas. [224910]
Mr. Raynsford: Officials in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are currently exploring with Officials in the Ministry of Defence whether there is a case for a council tax exemption or discount for service personnel serving abroad.
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