§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total extra cost to his Department of its contributions to the International Year of Disabled People.
§ Mr. Allan StewartI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Sir D. Price) on 25 January.—[Vol. 16, c.238–9] A great deal of official time has been spent in contributions to IYDP in organisational, legislative and publicity activity; its cost now and ultimateley cannot readily be measured. Some of the Scottish Office contributions referred to in that reply can, however, be measured in monetary terms. Specific grants included £25,875 to cover the operating costs of the Scottish Committee on IYDP, £7,875 for the Scottish Committee on Access, £6,500 towards the Building Awards Scheme, and £25,000 for publicity. In other areas such as urban aid there was an emphasis within existing levels in supporting projects related to the disabled; and a resource allocation of £3.8 million, which will attract grant in future years, was made to the Housing Corporation in Scotland for special needs projects with specific reference to the mentally and physically handicapped.
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