§ Ms. RichardsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health why the former grant of £8,000 a year paid to Calibre of Aylesbury, which produces talking books for the blind, was reduced two years ago to £500 a year: why it has now been withdrawn; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanCalibre was set up as a charitable trust in 1974 and began receiving funding from the Department in 1976 under our section 64 general scheme of grants to voluntary organisations. The grant was reviewed in 1984 when it was decided that Calibre was in a healthy financial situation which no longer justified section 64 support. Accordingly, a three-year tapering grant was awarded with the final payment of £2,000 being made in the financial year 1986–87. Although we are no longer able to award Calibre priority over the other organisations seeking section 64 grants, I should like to emphasise the high regard which the Department has for the services which Calibre provides to blind people.