asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much in total has been spent on financing the Home Office's Community Development Project since it was launched in 1968; and how much each CDP project currently running has cost since its inception, in each area.

It is estimated that the total cost by 31st March 1975 was slightly in excess of £2·4 million. I am arranging for the detailed information about individual local projects to be circulated in the Official Report.

Is the Minister of State aware that his Department is failing to make good use of the valuable knowledge and experience accumulating throughout the country in community development projects through the lack of central organisation in Government? Will he take steps to set up the necessary central organisation so that field projects may have direct access to Government Departments and officials, and so that real grassroots feelings can be known in Whitehall?

I am not aware of the assertion in the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question, because it is not true. We take notice of what comes out of these CDP programmes, and we have a central organisation for processing the research.

Will the hon. Gentleman say what he has learned so far from the evidence which has been forthcoming from community development projects? Does he not agree that such evidence as there is leads him to believe that still greater emphasis is needed on such projects?

The amount of information that we have accumulated is far too great to give in answer to a supplementary question. However, we are making the information the basis of much of our current thinking in developing an urban deprivation programme.