Vol. 407 No. 7
92 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education if she will outline the organisations which have suffered a cut in their grant this year as a result of reduced funding for the youth service grant scheme; whether she has assessed the impact that this reduction in funding will have on their services; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
My Department have funds at their disposal for the support of youth services generally and services for disadvantaged youth in particular. The youth service grant scheme is but one of the mechanisms by which these funds are channelled to the service providers, which are mainly, but not exclusively, voluntary youth organisations.
The allocation in any one year under the youth service grant scheme takes many factors into account including the total allocation available for youth in general, and changes in emphasis between services funded through the youth service grant scheme and through other schemes, including special schemes for the disadvantaged. The grants paid to individual organisations under the youth service grant scheme do not, therefore, necessarily represent the full funding available to them in the youth service programme, nor do they fully reflect the priorities set out within the programme for the provision of services.
