Written question asked by Mark Hendrick (Labour) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 14 January 2010. It was answered by Alan Campbell (Labour) on Wednesday, 20 January 2010 on behalf of the Home Office.

Drugs: Preston

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spent on programmes to tackle the misuse of drugs in Preston in (a) 1997-98 and (b) 2008-09.

Answer: The Home Office made a grant of £35,000 to Preston in 2008-09 towards a Positive Futures project. The Positive Futures programme was launched in 2001. It aims to prevent young people from becoming involved in substance misuse, crime and antisocial behaviour by engaging them into sport and arts based activities, and to support them access education, training, employment and volunteering opportunities.Other sources of central funding are available to Preston through Lancashire county council for allocation across the partnership's areas as they see fit in order to deliver local, regional and national strategies. For example, the Home Office made a contribution of £1,136,278 to Lancashire county council towards the delivery of the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) in 2008-09. DIP was introduced in 2003 to direct offenders into an assessment for their drug use, and as a route into effective treatment. This funding was allocated by the Lancashire Drug Action Team to commission services required across Lancashire areas, including Preston.Funding data for 1997-98 are not readily available.

Secondary information