§ Mr. HunterTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether it is his policy to make funding for victims' support groups available for the foreseeable future; and if he will make a statement. [106353]
§ Mr. Paul MurphySince 1998 this Government has allocated more than £20 million to fund victims' initiatives. More than £6 million—around 30 per cent.—of this has gone to pay the core running costs of victims' groups. This is in recognition of the valuable work that victims' groups do and I continue to press the case for more money for victims' initiatives. In allocating any further such funding that may become available I will of course have regard to this work. Equally, I must take into account the fact that many victims do not align themselves with victims' groups.