§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether funds were made available to Northern Ireland under the Opportunities for Volunteering programme on the same basis as for the rest of the United Kingdom and if not why not; and if so, how the money allocated has been used in recent years.
§ Lord LyellThe resources made available by Department of Health and Social Security in recent years for Opportunities for Volunteering were for Great Britain only; but Northern Ireland has had an equivalent scheme since 1981. Expenditure on this scheme by way of grants to local voluntary bodies has been £0.1 million in 1981–82, £0.2 million in 1982–83, £0.3 million in 1983–84 and £0.5 million in 1984–85. It is planned to spend some £0.6 million in 1985–86, which will provide the equivalent of some 600 full-time volunteer places.