Written question asked by Alan Keen (Labour) on Friday, 5 February 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 9 February 2010. It was answered by Alan Campbell (Labour) on Monday, 22 February 2010 on behalf of the Home Office.

Crime: Feltham

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 Feltham and Heston in (a) 1997-98 and (b) 2008-09.

Answer: In 2008-09, the Home Office provided funding of £806,158 to Hounslow Drug Action Team through the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) Main Grant. The constituency for Feltham and Heston comes under the London borough of Hounslow. DIP also made an allocation of £6.4 million to the Metropolitan Police Service for drug testing in 2008-09. Some of the £6.4 million would have been used to fund drug testing in the borough of Hounslow; the level of resource provided to Hounslow was decided centrally by the Metropolitan Service.DIP is a key part of the Government's strategy for tackling drugs and reducing crime. The programme is delivered locally via drug action teams using integrated teams known as criminal justice integrated teams supported by regional Government office leads and the National Treatment Agency. Using a case management approach they aim to offer access to treatment and support.A number of specific and individual Home Office grants have been combined into area-based grant (ABG), which is allocated to local authorities on a three-year basis to maximise stability and certainty. The receiving authorities have flexibility to use ABG as they see fit to deliver local, regional and national priorities in their respective areas.Funding data for 1997-98 is not readily available.

Secondary information