§ Mr. Sheermanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average relative cost per head per week of placing a young offender in various kinds of care; and what is the cost in respect of placing a young offender under the alternative to custody projects scheme.
§ Mr. WhitneyThe average relative cost per head per week of placing a young offender in various kinds of care is given in the table. This information is derived from The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) annual "Personal Social Services Statistics" for 1984–85 covering England and Wales. There is no recorded average cost of placing a young offender in an alternative to custody project. However, the grants made under the IT initiative (LAC (83)3) for the provision of alternatives to custody or residential care facilities for538W young offenders at £2,000 per young offender (approximately £154 per week for 13 weeks) are believed to be near to average costs.
£ per week Community Homes with Education 418 Observation and Assessment Centres 413 Other Community Homes 260
§ Mr. Sheermanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the Government's intention towards future funding of alternatives to custody projects, initially funded under LAC/83/3, when this two-year project funding runs out.
§ Mr. WhitneyLocal authorities are responsible for meeting the costs of young offenders using listed intermediate treatment facilities including those which are alternatives to custody or residential care. At the outset of the LAC(83)(3) scheme it was made clear that the grants were intended as short term funding of facilities to allow local authorities time to develop such facilities and rationalise other services so as to take over funding. Although the Government's intention has not changed, six-month extension funding is being approved in cases where, due to technical budgeting difficulties, such continuation funding is not available immediately.