§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the number of Neighbourhood Warden schemes in operation; what central Government funding has been(a) allocated and (b) spent on Neighbourhood Warden schemes since May 1997; what guidelines are in place relating to the operation of warden schemes; and if he will make a statement. [142606]
§ Mr. Charles Clarke[holding answer 15 December, 2000]: Neighbourhood Wardens are an important part of the Government's regeneration and neighbourhood renewal programme and of our partnership approach to tackling crime and disorder. The Policy Action Team Report 6 on Neighbourhood Wardens surveyed 50 schemes. Subsequently the Government have made funding available for Neighbourhood Warden schemes. In September this year I announced the first 50 successful new schemes, and that 42 further bids were being deferred for development. These enhanced bids have to be submitted for consideration by 15 December. I will make further announcements about these schemes in due course. It is too soon to make any formal assessment of how many schemes will be funded; we will however be evaluating the schemes in a similar way to other schemes funded under the Crime Reduction Programme.
We have allocated a total of £13.5 million (from the Home Department and the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions) for Neighbourhood Warden schemes over the period 2000–03. The total value of the first tranche of approved schemes is £7.6 million.
The Neighbourhood Wardens Unit is providing technical support and guidance notes to all schemes as they develop their implementation plans. Guidance is routinely placed on the crime reduction website (crimereduction.gov.uk). Draft guidance on warden induction training has recently been circulated to successful schemes.