§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the numbers of occasions in the last year for which records are available when grants from his Department to bail and probation hostels and institutions run by charitable organisations have been paid late; and in how many cases over the same period interest and charges on overdrafts incurred by the charity as a result of late payment have been refunded.
§ Mrs. RumboldThe Home Office awards grants to a wide range of charitable organisations and the information requested could not be obtained without disproportionate costs.
Grants to bail and probation hostels are paid quarterly in advance but during the latter part of the year actual expenditure may exceed planned expenditure for justifiable reasons. In these circumstances interest charges are reimbursed in the final grant claim but the amounts are not separately identified. In the case of grants awarded to charitable organisations who provide other supported accommodation for offenders there have been no claims for a refund of interest charges on overdrafts.