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Home Office

Answer

Mr. Bill Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list his Department's grants to the Women's Royal Voluntary Service for (a) 1995-96, (b) 1996-97, (c) 1997-98 and provision for 1998-99; and if he will make a statement. [39154] Mr. Michael: The Home Office has provided grant in aid to the Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS) since its inception in 1938. The levels of grant for the years in question were as follows: £ _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Year Amount 1995-96 6,200,000 1996-97 5,840,000 1997-98 5,548,000 1998-99 5,298,000 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. With some 120,000 volunteers, WRVS is the largest provider of volunteering opportunities in the United Kingdom. It also remains by far the largest single grant recipient from the Department's main grants programme to voluntary and community organisations. This year it will receive nearly half (46 per cent.) of the total budget available. Following a review of the organisation, published by the Compass Partnership in 1997, it was agreed that WRVS should become self-financing within ten years. The level of Home Office grant will therefore continue to decline, making it possible for us to implement the Public Account Committee's recommendation of 1996 to devote a larger share of our funding to new ventures.The WRVS continues to make great strides in the modernisation of its legal, financial and organisational infrastructure and in the development of its services in this, its diamond jubilee year.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

310 c529-30W; 39154

Session

1997-98

Subjects

Central government Women Finance Grants Modernisation Voluntary organisations Voluntary work Women's Royal Voluntary Service

Contains statistics

Yes