§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what proportion of the money awarded to police forces in England and Wales to fund arrest referral schemes for drug-misusing offenders is to be derived from(a) his Department's office budget and (b) the overall drugs misuse strategy and UK National Plan budget; how much money this will be; and if he will make a statement; [102567]
(2) what proportion of the money awarded to police forces in England and Wales to fund arrest referral schemes for drug-misusing offenders is in addition to the Government's current total drugs misuse strategy and UK National Plan Budget; and if he will make a statement. [102566]
§ Mr. BoatengMy right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced on 14 July, at the Association of Chief Police Officers summer conference, that an extra £20 million was to be made available to police forces to support the spread of arrest referral schemes across all custody suites in England and Wales. This £20 million is part of the Government's Crime Reduction Programme and is in addition to the money that is committed to the delivery of the anti-drugs strategy, Tackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain.
Police forces, with the support of their local Drug Action Teams, were invited to bid for matched funding to help meet the cost of arrest referral workers and to bid for a contribution to the anticipated costs of providing treatment for drug-misusing offenders picked up by arrest referral schemes. Initial bids were received from 39 forces who are now being asked to prepare more detailed action plans. The initial allocations to the forces concerned, which were announced on 3 December, total of £19.7 million over the period up to March 2002.