§ Mr. Bill MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list his Department's grants to the Women's Royal Voluntary Service for(a) 1995–96, (b) 1996–97, (c) 1997–98 and provision for 1998–99; and if he will make a statement. [39154]
§ Mr. MichaelThe Home Office has provided grant in aid to the Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS) since its inception in 1938. The levels of grant for the years in question were as follows:
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Number of Females sentenced to immediate custody1 and under section 53 of the Children and young persons Act 19332 by type of offence,1987–1996 Wales Immediate custody2 Sec 53 of CYPOA332 Year Indictable offences Summary non-motoring offences Summary motoring offences All offences Indictable offences 1987 109 6 3 118 - 1988 126 2 2 130 - 1989 102 6 1 109 - 1990 87 9 3 99 1 1991 74 6 1 81 - 1992 87 8 1 96 - 1993 115 6 5 126 2 1994 134 6 5 145 - 1995 152 8 6 166 1 1996 178 6 8 192 4 1 Under the Criminal Justice Act 1991 custodial penalties are available from the common minimum age of 15 for both boys and girls (previously the minimum age was 14 for boys and 15 for girls). Immediate custody includes detention in a young offender institution, unsuspended imprisonment and partly suspended imprisonment (before 1 October 1992). 2 Children convicted at the Crown Court may be sentenced to be detained for up to the adult maximum, including life, under Section 53 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.
£ Year Amount 1995–96 6,200,000 1996–97 5,840,000 1997–98 5,548,000 1998–99 5,298,000 With some 120,000 volunteers, WRVS is the largest provider of volunteering opportunities in the United Kingdom. It also remains by far the largest single grant recipient from the Department's main grants programme to voluntary and community organisations. This year it will receive nearly half (46 per cent.) of the total budget available.
Following a review of the organisation, published by the Compass Partnership in 1997, it was agreed that WRVS should become self-financing within ten years. The level of Home Office grant will therefore continue to decline, making it possible for us to implement the Public Accounts Committee's recommendation of 1996 to devote a larger share of our funding to new ventures.The WRVS continues to make great strides in the modernisation of its legal, financial and organisational infrastructure and in the development of its services in this, its diamond jubilee year.