To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider increasing the amount of money which he provided for local crime prevention work in the safer cities initiative launched in March 1988.

Subject to detailed scrutiny of estimates and to parliamentary approval, expenditure in excess of £6 million is planned for local crime prevention work under the safer cities programme in 1990–91. It is too early in the life of this new and innovative programme to seek significant increases above this level.