The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB)has issued a statement on the issue of Building Lives funding.

Director of Policy, Steve Radley, has said that following the funding issues experienced by Building Lives last year, CITB has sought to provide support in a range of ways, including giving guidance in detail on how Building Lives could apply for levy-payers’ funds from CITB.

He continued to say that the charity was introduced to other funding groups, such as the Skills Funding Agency contributed to its funding.

Mr Radley said that this was done in order to ensure that all the people who were participating in training at Building Lives in May last year were able to fulfil their courses and make sure they did not lose out.

He said that the funding application from Building Lives is currently under review, along with several other applications, and that a decision on the future of the group will be made by the end of the week.

He hastened to add that none of the applicants have been informed of the potential results of their reviews.

Mr Radley continued to say that CITB has presented a clear outline of its funding criteria, which was agreed last year with industry following a series of extensive consultations.

He said that it is pivotal that all applications should be led by employers and that CITB will only provide funding if other sources are unavailable. There must also be firm evidence provided by applicants of how the industry will benefit from their project.

He added that such criteria are of vital importance in ensuring that CITB is sure that it is investing levy-payers’ funds in areas that need it the most and with the greatest chance of succeeding.

He concluded by saying that CITB is not aware of Building Lives engaging in discussions with local partners to ensure the centre remains open, but CITB will give support to the process if it is able to.