§ Sir George YoungTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will increase his grant to Centrepoint, Soho to enable them to accommodate 16 to 17-year-olds;
(2) what steps he intends to take to ensure continuity of funding for Centrepoint, Soho's work with homeless 16 to 17-year-olds in the west end of London.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThe Department makes an annual contribution towards the costs of the Centrepoint hostel under paragraph 4 of schedule 5 of the Social Security Act 1980.
An application for increased funding is currently under consideration.
§ Sir George YoungTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will instruct his officials to meet representatives of Centrepoint, Soho urgently following the withdrawal of benefit entitlement fronm 16 to 17-year-olds.
§ Mr. Peter LloydDiscussions have taken place at local level about operational arrangements. Officials in headquarters will, however, arrange to meet representatives of Centrepoint to discuss more widely issues arising from the general withdrawal of entitlement to income support from 16 and 17-year-olds.