Vol. 550 No. 4
71 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will publish the evaluation report on the national reading initiative; the amount of money spent on this project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9211/02]
The national reading initiative was launched on 21 January 2000 with a budget of £2.5 million as a one-year initiative with two briefs. It is designed to raise awareness in the general public of the importance of reading and to lay the foundation for improving the quality of the teaching of reading in the formal and non-formal sectors. The initiative was a community-wide endeavour, collaborating with schools, libraries and voluntary community groups. Opportunity was given to local groups across all sectors to apply for funding to design, organise and run community-based projects aimed at increasing reading use and-or improving reading standards. The bulk of the money allocated for the initiative, over £2.4 million, has been spent. It is anticipated that the evaluation report will be completed in the coming months and consideration will be given to publishing the report at that time.
