VOLUNTARY and community groups in East Lancashire are to benefit from a £15 million cash boost with the announcement of two new Government grant programmes.

The announcement was made by Paul Boateng and Lord Falconer, the Home Office and Cabinet Ministers with joint responsibility for the Government's Active Community programme.

The money will be available nationwide over the next three years, to help pay for such things as refurbishments and to allow organisations to pool resources and share premises.

The grant programme currently provides £17 million a year to strengthen voluntary and community work in communities across the country.

Over the next three years this will be increased by £8 million, meaning a total of £18 next year, £20 million in 2002-3 and £21 million in 2003-4.

This year the new Capital Modernisation grants programme will offer a further £7 million to be spent before 2004 on projects designed to modernise the infrastructure of the voluntary and community sector. Mr Boatang said: "The Active Community Initiative is unique in its focus on community and voluntary organisations to continue to support the development of Active Communities.

"We welcome applications from voluntary and community groups across the UK that support the Government's aim to bring about a significant increase in voluntary and community involvement, and that make it easier for people to get involved in volunteering projects."

Mr Boateng also spoke of the importance of specific initiatives which the Prime Minister highlighted at the Active Community Convention in March.

Key themes include challenging the voluntary and community sector to diversity its volunteer base, challenging businesses to give employees one paid day off a year to volunteer before October 2001 and challenging the media to give more coverage of voluntary and community groups.

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