PN 04-03-17 CF

26 March 2004

Free training for Wigan thanks to Lottery grant

Wigan based housing association County Palatine Limited, part of the Adactus Housing Group is celebrating after receiving a £97, 239 lottery grant from the Community Fund to develop its learning resource project EQUAL.

EQUAL provides an informal and accessible learning resource centre and provides free training courses for all.

It encourages individuals including older people, unemployed people, lone parents, people on low incomes and individuals with little or no qualifications return to education. The free training courses provide a stepping-stone back into education and equip people with the skills needed to start employment.

The courses are open to everyone and the EQUAL project specifically aims to target the older population in Wigan who may feel socially excluded.

‘We are very pleased to receive this support from the Community Fund’, said Paul Lees, Chief Executive of County Palatine. ‘The funding will enable us to develop this innovative project further to reach out to more people in the Wigan area.’

County Palatine also provides a wireless laptop initiative that reaches those in sheltered housing across the borough. This scheme reaches those who would otherwise be unable to learn computer skills due to mobility issues, illness or disability later in life. The project encourages users to build new friendships, reducing the feelings of physical and social isolation that many older people experience.

County Palatine uses grants provided by the Housing Corporation and loans from financial institutions to build and refurbish properties for those with a perceived housing need. For more information please contact customer care at County Palatine on 01942 608715.

Notes to Editors

The Community Fund shares out money raised by the National Lottery to charities and to voluntary and community groups. Out of every £1 spent on the National Lottery the Community Fund gets 4.7 pence.
The legal name of the Community Fund remains the National Lottery Charities Board. The National Lottery Charities Board was set up in 1994 and changed its operation name to Community Fund – Lottery money making a difference in April 2001.
Since 1995 the Community Fund has awarded £2.1 billion to more than 46,000 projects. Full details are available in the grants database
Next year the Community Fund is to merge with the New Opportunities Fund in advance of creating a new National Lottery distributor that will administer 50 per cent of all good cause funding. The merger will not affect current programmes, beneficiaries or applications. Further details on the new lottery distributor are expected to be available in Spring 2004.
The New Opportunities Fund distributes National Lottery money to health, education and environment projects across the UK. We intend to support sustainable projects that will improve the quality of life of people throughout the UK, address the needs of those who are most disadvantaged in society, encourage community participation and complement relevant local and national strategies and programmes. (Funding for programmes is divided between England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales on the basis of population weighted to reflect levels of deprivation).

Media Enquiries

Claire Slinger, Communications Officer -
01925 626808

Angela Burrows, Regional Development Officer - 01925 626833

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