Treasury minister John Healey had hinted at the availability of transitional funds following the critical outcry provoked by the November 2002 Pre-Budget announcement that category C and CC LTCS funding would be distributed publicly from April 2003 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Responding to concerns that the community projects would be under threat, a statement from the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said today:
“The government wishes to ensure a smooth transition to the new spending programme with the minimum of disruption. The government will therefore provide transitional funding for ongoing projects beyond March 31 2003, provided they meet all the eligibility criteria, and subject to any constraints resulting from EU state aid rules. The responsibility for this funding arrangement will lie with DEFRA in full co-operation with ENTRUST, the government-appointed regulator of the LTCS.”
Eligibility
In order to qualify for the transitional funding, projects will need to fall in categories C and CC of the LTCS – covering research, development, education or information about sustainable waste management or the market development for recycled waste.
Projects must be based in England, registered with ENTRUST, have a written agreement to receive funding from a Distributive Environmental Body or landfill operator dated on or before February 3 2003, and must have a shortfall in funding during 2003-04 beyond that which has been committed.
The project operator must have been expecting to receive further funding through the LTCS in the 2003-04 period in order to continue or complete the project within that period, as set out in the project's plans.
During the project, operators will need to show how the project is performing against its objectives, ensure that best practice is shared and that the projects helped to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.
The transitional fund will end on March 31 2004, after which other forms of funding would have to be secured. Applications for the funding must be in by April 30 2003.
Projects wishing to be considered for the funding should contact ENTRUST as follows:
Phone: 0161 972 0203
Fax: 0161 972 0055
Email: transition@entrust.org.uk
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