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4 Mar 2004 : Column 1109W—continued
People's Peers
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Prime Minister what the (a) attendance and (b) voting records have been of each People's Peer since each was appointed. [157460]
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The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice), on 13 November 2003, Official Report, column 430W.
Sensory Deprivation
Adam Price: To ask the Prime Minister what the Government's policy is on the use of sensory deprivation by members of the security forces. [158883]
The Prime Minister: Members of the armed forces may only use blindfolds on apprehended individuals for reasons of operation security, such as the movement through military sensitive areas. No other forms of sensory deprivation are permitted.
Temporary Staff
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister how many staff his Office employs on a temporary basis through employment agencies; what percentage this is of total staff employed; and how much his Office paid employment agencies to supply temporary staff in (a) 2001–02, (b) 2002–03 and (c) 2003–04 to the most recent date for which figures are available. [158242]
The Prime Minister: As at 1 October 2003, there were five temporary members of staff, approximately 2.3 per cent. of the total staff in my Office. These were to fill vacancies in information technology and in secretarial and administrative support. Final cost figures for 2003–04 are not yet available.
The total cost for temporary staff for 2001–02 was £99,249 (five temporary staff) and in 2002–03 was £165,554 (eight temporary staff).
A difference in costs may occur because of the nature of the temporary post and the number of temporary staff required, for example to cover the significant increase in volume of correspondence to my Office resulting in over one million letters over the last year alone.
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DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Supporting People Programme
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the funding levels for Supporting People are in Lancashire in 2003–04. [157692]
Yvette Cooper: The final Supporting People grant awarded to Lancashire in 2003–04 was £30,781,847 to meet the costs of housing related support services and in 2004–05 it is £30,728,125. The Lancashire Supporting People team also received £767,000 to help with the administration of the programme in 2003–04 rising to £814,000 in 2004–05.
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the future of the Supporting People programme. [156812]
Yvette Cooper: On 12 February, the Government published the report of the Independent Review and announced funding of £1.8 billion for the Supporting People programme in 2004–05.
The review has found that there are wide variations in unit costs between authorities and that £1.8 billion is too much to pay for the legacy services. The Government are concerned to ensure that value for money is achieved and that valuable services for the vulnerable are sustained. That is why the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has asked the Audit Commission to undertake detailed inspections of local authorities with high unit costs, to inform the Spending Review and funding allocations for 2005–06.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is also drawing up a comprehensive programme of work to take forward some of the recommendations of the review.
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to announce funding levels for the authorities administering the Supporting People programme. [156819]
Yvette Cooper: On 12 February, the Government announced funding of £1.8 billion for the Supporting People programme in 2004–05. Administering Authorities were informed of their individual allocations on the same day.
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer in connection with funding for the Supporting People programme in 2004–05. [156820]
Yvette Cooper: On 12 February, the Government announced funding of £1.8 billion for the Supporting People programme in 2004–05. This announcement followed an extensive consideration of the Independent Review report of the programme and discussions between the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and partner Departments.
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Mr. Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the review of the budget of the Supporting People programme will be completed; and when the Supporting People teams will be advised of their budgets for 2004–05. [156880]
Yvette Cooper: The Independent Review of the Supporting People programme is now complete. On 12 February, the Government published the report of the Independent Review and announced funding of £1.8 billion for the Supporting People programme in 2004–05. Administering authorities were informed of their individual allocations on the same day.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will implement procedures for Supporting People teams to bid for growth monies in making capital bids to the Housing Corporation. [156886]
Yvette Cooper: The 2004–05 Supporting People grant allocations includes a one off revenue allocation for the current round of Housing Corporation capital awards. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not intend introducing a Supporting People bidding round to provide additional revenue for new schemes in future years.
The total Supporting People grant in England for 2004–05 is £1.8 billion. The management of these grants is now firmly a matter for each Supporting People Administering Authority.
In the longer term the intention is to introduce an allocations formula. If authorities wish to commission new services the necessary revenue may be achieved through the re-modelling or de-commissioning of existing services.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on funding for the Supporting People programme in Lancashire for 2004–05. [157734]
Yvette Cooper: The Supporting People grant allocated to Lancashire for 2004–05 is £30,728,125 to meet the costs of housing related support services. In addition to this grant the Lancashire Supporting People team will also receive £814,000 during 2004–05 to help with the administration of the programme.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to redefine the definition of housing-related support under Supporting People. [151772]
Yvette Cooper: Following the recommendations in the Independent Review of the Supporting People Programme, we will be looking at whether there is a need to make clearer the definition of what is housing-related support.
Area-based Initiatives
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the projected budgets are for each area-based initiative which receives funding from his Department, for (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06, broken down by English region. [156471]
Yvette Cooper: The allocations issued to area-based initiatives by region for the years sought are set out in the following tables.
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| Region | Coalfields | Community Chests | European Regional Development Fund Areas | Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders(13) | Liveability(13) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | 2.90 | 3.55 | 23.90 | 28.00 | — |
| North West | 1.40 | 6.49 | 69.80 | (13)89.00 | — |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 6.20 | 3.36 | 50.70 | (13)— | — |
| East Midlands | 4.80 | 1.74 | 14.10 | — | — |
| West Midlands | 1.90 | 2.89 | 29.10 | (13)— | — |
| East of England | — | 0.34 | 5.80 | — | — |
| London | — | 5.31 | 9.40 | — | — |
| South East | 0.30 | 0.59 | 1.50 | — | — |
| South West | — | 0.73 | 18.70 | — | — |
| Total | 17.50 | 25 | 223.00 | 150.00 | 40.50 |
| Region | Neighbourhood Management | Neighbourhood Renewal Fund | Neighbourhood Wardens/Street Wardens | New Deal for Communities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | 2.34 | 59.43 | 0.85 | 27.78 |
| North West | 3.28 | 124.54 | 2.86 | 41.25 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 2.58 | 62.76 | 1.95 | 27.10 |
| East Midlands | 1.64 | 29.05 | 0.76 | 22.54 |
| West Midlands | 1.88 | 56.28 | 2.18 | 39.90 |
| East of England | 0.94 | 3.50 | 0.68 | 10.52 |
| London | 2.11 | 100.74 | 6.95 | 62.30 |
| South East | 1.18 | 4.56 | 1.78 | 12.40 |
| South West | 1.64 | 9.13 | 1.17 | 12.80 |
| Total | 17.59 | 449.99 | 19.18 | 256.59 |
| Region | Coalfields | Community Chests | European Regional Development Fund Areas | Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders(13) | Liveability(13) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | — | 3.55 | 23.90 | 38.00 | — |
| North West | — | 6.49 | 69.80 | (13)101.00 | — |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | — | 3.36 | 50.70 | (13)— | — |
| East Midlands | — | 1.74 | 14.10 | — | — |
| West Midlands | — | 2.89 | 29.10 | (13)— | — |
| East of England | — | 0.34 | 5.80 | — | — |
| London | — | 5.31 | 9.40 | — | — |
| South East | — | 0.59 | 1.50 | — | — |
| South West | — | 0.73 | 18.70 | — | — |
| Total | 17.65 | 25.00 | 223.00 | 290.00 | 40.50 |
| Region | Neighbourhood Management | Neighbourhood Renewal Fund | Neighbourhood Wardens/Street Wardens | New Deal for Communities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | 2.20 | 69.14 | 0.00 | 30.40 |
| North West | 1.85 | 149.06 | 1.44 | 40.50 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 2.20 | 65.97 | 0.84 | 27.60 |
| East Midlands | 1.35 | 33.62 | 0.36 | 19.68 |
| West Midlands | 1.70 | 59.71 | 1.24 | 44.10 |
| East of England | 0.85 | 3.50 | 0.00 | 10.61 |
| London | 2.05 | 128.79 | 5.14 | 68.10 |
| South East | 1.20 | 4.56 | 0.98 | 13.40 |
| South West | 1.35 | 10.65 | 0.37 | 13.80 |
| Total | 14.75 | 525.00 | 10.37 | 268.19 |
(13) Not all of the budget has yet been allocated to individual initiatives.
4 Mar 2004 : Column 1115W
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