House of Commons Hansard Written Ministerial Statements for 4 Feb 2004 (pt 2)

TREASURY

Invest to Save Budget: Round 6

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Paul Boateng): I am pleased to announce that 13 bids from across the public and voluntary sectors have been successful in round six of the Invest to Save Budget at a cost of £46 million in total over the three years to 2006–07 for England. The allocated sum rises to £51 million to include consequential funding for the devolved Administrations. The attached table describes the winners of this round.

The Invest to Save Budget (ISB) is a joint Treasury/Cabinet Office initiative. It provides support for projects which increase the extent of joint working between different parts of government, identify innovative ways of delivering public services and reduce the cost of delivering the services and/or improve the quality and effectiveness of services delivered to the public. This is the sixth round of the ISB which started in 1999.

It is expected that a total of around £370 million will be spent on ISB projects over the period from 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2006. Round one was restricted to central Government Departments and their agencies. In the second and third rounds local authorities, police and fire authorities, health authorities, non-departmental public bodies and public corporations could also apply. In the fourth round, voluntary sector bodies were able to apply for the first time. The fifth round built on the partnership theme and encouraged the risk adverse public sector to innovate. The sixth round continues to seek out projects to improve delivery of public services through innovation and partnership working.

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Winning projects have to agree an implementation plan with the sponsor departments. Each project has to provide six-monthly progress reports and carry out an evaluation of its success once it has been completed. Wider dissemination of the good practice from completed projects is then fed back into the whole spectrum of public service providers.

Organisation Brief Description Funding Amount Region

1. Crown Prosecution Service Crown Prosecution Service led project to deliver, for the first time, a truly joined up partnership approach to provide care for victims and witnesses. £27,123,000 England & Wales

2. Small Business Service Project to develop an on-line facility for Government Departments to reduce barriers to effective competition for public sector contracts and for improving value for money in public sector procurement. £1,250,000 National

3. Youth Justice Board Project to address the risk factors associated with offending children so helping to reduce the number of children entering the Criminal Justice system £1,365,000 England & Wales

4. Community Service Volunteers Project to reduce the demand for specialist mental health services across London and to create a greater understanding of mental health issues in the broad population £7,331,000 London

5. St Mungo's Inner London Detox Centre Project to provide a detoxification centre in Central London to offer an alternative to police custody for homeless street drinkers arrested by the Metropolitan Police £1,155,000 London

6. Prison Service Prison Service led project to deliver support for families and specifically children who have a parent in custody. £314,687 South West

7. Devon & Cornwall Constabulary Project that establishes a Targeted Drug release programme which will provide access for drug using offenders to pass from the criminal justice system to the treatment system when released from prison. £1,100,000 South West

8. Bath and Somerset Social Services and Housing Services Project that establishes a dedicated mobile nursing team providing 24-hour cover designed to take services in a residential location rather than moving a seriously frail person to hospital. £1,343,300 South West

9. Bristol City Council Project to reduce out of authority placements for children with complex mental health, emotional and behavioural difficulties to reduce alienation from their communities and increase their life chances £810,870 South West

10. Warrington Advice and Resource Centre Project to reduce the number of young people running away in Warrington by providing reactive services as well as proactively engaging with families to reduce repeat runaways and preventing siblings duplicating the behaviour. £458,064 North West

11. Gloucestershire City Council Project to develop and deliver a Local Planning toolkit for public service providers and partnerships to plan their neighbourhood and community services using shared information across the different agencies £100,000 West Midlands

12. Lincolnshire County Council Project to educate local people in Rural and Coastal Academies by the development of an integrated curriculum provision to pupils who are out of mainstream school; and an area based identification, screening and support service for adults with dyslexia. £1,092,000 East Midlands

13. Peterborough City Council Project to create an integrated network of service providers, statutory agencies and support workers, which will ensure the successful integration of new arrivals into Peterborough in the short, medium and long term. £2,262,400 East Midlands

Organisation	Brief Description	Funding Amount	Region
1. Crown Prosecution Service	Crown Prosecution Service led project to deliver, for the first time, a truly joined up partnership approach to provide care for victims and witnesses.	£27,123,000	England & Wales
2. Small Business Service	Project to develop an on-line facility for Government Departments to reduce barriers to effective competition for public sector contracts and for improving value for money in public sector procurement.	£1,250,000	National
3. Youth Justice Board	Project to address the risk factors associated with offending children so helping to reduce the number of children entering the Criminal Justice system	£1,365,000	England & Wales
4. Community Service Volunteers	Project to reduce the demand for specialist mental health services across London and to create a greater understanding of mental health issues in the broad population	£7,331,000	London
5. St Mungo's Inner London Detox Centre	Project to provide a detoxification centre in Central London to offer an alternative to police custody for homeless street drinkers arrested by the Metropolitan Police	£1,155,000	London
6. Prison Service	Prison Service led project to deliver support for families and specifically children who have a parent in custody.	£314,687	South West
7. Devon & Cornwall Constabulary	Project that establishes a Targeted Drug release programme which will provide access for drug using offenders to pass from the criminal justice system to the treatment system when released from prison.	£1,100,000	South West
8. Bath and Somerset Social Services and Housing Services	Project that establishes a dedicated mobile nursing team providing 24-hour cover designed to take services in a residential location rather than moving a seriously frail person to hospital.	£1,343,300	South West
9. Bristol City Council	Project to reduce out of authority placements for children with complex mental health, emotional and behavioural difficulties to reduce alienation from their communities and increase their life chances	£810,870	South West
10. Warrington Advice and Resource Centre	Project to reduce the number of young people running away in Warrington by providing reactive services as well as proactively engaging with families to reduce repeat runaways and preventing siblings duplicating the behaviour.	£458,064	North West
11. Gloucestershire City Council	Project to develop and deliver a Local Planning toolkit for public service providers and partnerships to plan their neighbourhood and community services using shared information across the different agencies	£100,000	West Midlands
12. Lincolnshire County Council	Project to educate local people in Rural and Coastal Academies by the development of an integrated curriculum provision to pupils who are out of mainstream school; and an area based identification, screening and support service for adults with dyslexia.	£1,092,000	East Midlands
13. Peterborough City Council	Project to create an integrated network of service providers, statutory agencies and support workers, which will ensure the successful integration of new arrivals into Peterborough in the short, medium and long term.	£2,262,400	East Midlands

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DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Rosepark Nursing Home Fire

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Phil Hope): First, may I say that our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims of this tragedy?

It is too early to speculate about the cause of the fire. Investigations are already under way in Scotland and we will be looking very closely at their findings and considering the implications for England and Wales.

The cornerstone of our policy remains the prevention of fire. When fires do occur, simple precautions such as keeping fire doors closed and installing smoke alarms can play a vital role in reducing death and injury. Integrated Risk Management Plans will make sure that more work is done by the Fire and Rescue Service to prevent fires in the first place, by identifying those people in the community most at risk, and targeting resources more effectively.

Sprinklers can also play an important role in suppressing fires where they have broken out, though it is too early to conclude that if the Rosepark Nursing Home had been fitted with a sprinkler system, any loss of life could have been prevented.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has been actively investigating the effectiveness of sprinkler systems in tackling fires in residential properties. The results of this work, which is being undertaken on our behalf by the Building Research Establishment, are

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being fed into the review of the fire safety aspects of the Building Regulations (England and Wales), which is currently under-way. A report of the work will shortly be published, enabling those involved with fire safety in buildings to gain a more comprehensive understanding of residential sprinkler systems. However, the tragic incident at the weekend indicates that sprinklers may have a role to play in protecting vulnerable groups such as; homes for children, homes for elderly people, homes for disabled people, and, higher risk houses in multiple occupation.

In relation to existing premises, including residential care homes, an employer is required under the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997, as amended, and under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to undertake a risk assessment in order to safeguard the safety from fire not only of his employees but of all people on his premises affected by his work. This assessment can include the provision of sprinklers within the building. This requirement will be extended by the proposed Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order to include most premises to which the public have access, and the duty imposed upon the employer will be extended to include any person who is responsible for managing the premises.

In the meantime our Community Fire Safety programme continues to educate people about the risks associated with fire and the measures which can mitigate against its occurrence. This programme has already been effective in reducing fire deaths and injuries from accidental fires.