§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the Supporting People grant. [64521]
§ Mr. McNultyThe Government have allocated £40 million to local authorities to fund the implementation of the Supporting People Programme in 2002–03. This is in addition to the £15.2 million allocated to local authorities in 2001–02. The Programme goes live in April 2003, and baseline allocations for 2003–04 will be based on current spend in 2002–03, plus an allowance for inflation. ODPM is providing guidance to assist local authorities in identifying current spend. Allocations for 2004–05 should be derived from the final report of the Supporting People Allocation Formula project, which is due by March 2003. The report will summarise the main features of the funding model, how it has been derived, target allocations and pace of change issues.