§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on what help is available to organisations for safer building and home safety from the modernisation fund. [47910]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe DTI's consumer protection Modernisation Fund was launched early in 2001. To date we have earmarked £2.5 million to support local projects which offer practical home safety interventions. Many of the projects involve improvements to make homes safer such as stair handrails, child-proof window locks, home safety checks and installation of smoke alarms. In 2001–02 we supported 12 projects across the UK and provided support to strengthen the 209W capacity of two national home safety charities, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and the Child Accident Prevention Trust. Applications for awards during 2002–03 closed on 15 February and I will announce the successful projects shortly.