§ The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. David Blunkett)I am pleased to announce today the specific projects which will receive funding from the 2003–04 allocation from the Capital Modernisation Fund to assist small retailers in deprived areas to improve the security of their business.
The sum of £5.8 million has been distributed to regions in England and Wales according to the formula based on an equal share for each region, crimes impacting on retailers and percentage of people living in the most deprived wards. The remaining £200,000 of the third year funding has been set aside for administration and evaluation.
This year's funding will provide assistance to a minimum of 5,000 individual retailers and essential businesses. As in previous years, this funding will be spent on schemes identified by regional Home Office Directors, in conjunction with Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and a variety of interventions will be employed, including enhancing the security of individual premises and improving the environment of shopping parades. This will mean that over the three years of the initiative, since 2001, over 12,500 individual shop's units will have directly benefited from improved security measures.
I have placed in the Library a paper showing the allocations of funds to individual projects. I have also written to hon. Members in England and Wales who have projects in their constituencies.