HC Deb 16 July 2003 vol 409 cc364-5W
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on programmes under the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas initiative funded by the Government Office for the North West. [124387]

Yvette Cooper

Government Office for the North West was allocated £2,355,088 of funding for small retail businesses in deprived areas for the three years, 2001–04. It was used on a range of interventions to individual shops or groups of shops, such as better locks and toughened glass or by making improvements to their immediate environment, such as better lighting.

It is expected that a minimum of 955 shops in the North West will benefit from this year's allocation.