The Government launched a pilot Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) in March 2000. Government financial support was initially designed to meet the administrative costs of the Independent Housing Ombudsman (IHO) in setting up the pilot Tenancy Deposit Scheme for a period of two years. The Government also set in hand a new statistics gathering exercise and research into the operation of the pilot scheme. After two years the need for further funding for the TDS had to be addressed. In announcing that, exceptionally, further government funding would be provided Ministers said, in February 2002, that the pilot's lack of take-up suggested a strong case for legislation and promised a consultation on options. It became clear that without continued government funding the pilot scheme would not survive - and that it required more than just the pump priming of the start-up costs of a voluntary scheme. Further funding of the pilot enabled research and an audit of the scheme to be completed - producing evidence that a self-financing voluntary scheme looked a remote prospect.