§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what contingency funding he has retained centrally for Supporting People in 2004–05; and what criteria he will apply in deciding how to allocate such funding. [159933]
§ Yvette CooperOne of the main objectives of the Supporting People programme has been to devolve the responsibility for commissioning support services to local Supporting people teams. All Supporting People programme grant is allocated to the 149 administering authorities.
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§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to increase the funding to those Supporting People teams where the late announcement of pipeline funding has led to a delay in the utilisation of properties purchased through the Housing Corporation. [156885]
§ Yvette CooperThe Government commissioned the Independent Review of Supporting People after the resources required by local authorities increased substantially during the course of last year. Resources for 2004–05 were not allocated until the Independent Review was complete. The Independent Review found that £1.8 billion is too much to pay for legacy provision.
Local authorities have seen a substantial increase in their resources for services covered by Supporting People in the last few years. It is a matter for Supporting People teams to manage their budgets and improve value for money.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will not be increasing the grant awards to authorities affected by pipeline funding in 2004–05. Equally where there has been the inevitable slippage in pipeline schemes the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will not be reducing grants to reflect this change in circumstance.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the implications for the Supporting People programme in Gloucestershire of a stand-still budget. [159387]
§ Yvette CooperThe recent Independent Review which was carried out on the Supporting People Programme concluded that £1.8 billion was too much to pay for legacy provision. Work is being undertaken, following the recommendations of the Review, to inform the Spending Review 2004 funding decisions.
Future years funding for the programme will be announced once the outcome of the Spending Review 2004 is known.
Administering authorities have been asked to look closely at their costs and services to ensure that better value for money is achieved.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the current budget for Supporting People in Gloucestershire is; and what the projected budget is for each of the next three years. [159388]
§ Yvette CooperThe Supporting People budget for Gloucestershire in 2003–04 is £28.1 million and in 200–05 will be £27.8 million. Future years' funding for the programme will be decided in the Spending Review 2004.