Zahawi defended the £72m initiative at a hearing of the parliamentary education committee, which earlier this month highlighted criticisms of the scheme, launched in October 2016.
The minister said he would like to see the scheme extended beyond its deadline of October this year, during questioning from the cross-party group of MPs which has been examining its record.
Zahawi praised how the funds reach local authorities after losing just £2m to administration costs. Of that £70m, 90 per cent goes to frontline programmes, Zahawi said.
Responding to a suggestion from committee chair Robert Halfon MP, that Opportunity Areas are like a "large quango", the minister claimed: "It is quite an efficient way of bringing stakeholders together, deciding on the specific challenges in that area - as they know best."
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