HL Deb 10 March 2004 vol 658 cc175-6WA
Lord Fearn

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What financial help in the form of government grants has been given to London-based hostels or shelters for the homeless in the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 to date. [HL1665]

Lord Rooker

The following table gives details of funding provided by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to voluntary organisations towards the provision of London hostels and rolling shelters for homeless people in 2002. 2003 and 2004.

Financial year Total funding for the year
April—March 2001–02 £12,991,788
April—March 2002–03 £9,395,719
April—March 2003–04 £6,500,140
April —March 2004–05 £1,259,785

NB 2001–02 and 2002–03 are actuals

and 2003–04 and 2004–05 expected outturns

Over the four-year period there has been a reduction in direct commissioning by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of services to tackle rough sleeping. Resources have been transferred to local authorities to commission services themselves as part of the development and implementation of local homelessness strategies.

The Supporting People funding of £1.8 billion in 2003–04 was allocated to administering authorities who have responsibility for commissioning services and allocating funding to service providers locally.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister breakdowns of the Supporting People funding are by individual authorities, not by client groups or types of services.

The Department of Health also awards grants to various homeless voluntary organisations of which the amount of funding provided is based on national projects. However, it is not possible to identify what proportion of the grant goes into London based projects.