§ 31. Mrs. EllmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the progress of the learning direct advice and information line. [59135]
§ Mr. MudieLearning Direct has been a resounding success. Since its launch in February it has given over 370,000 callers free high quality impartial information 761W and advice on learning opportunities. The freephone number (0800 100 900) has been trailed on all five terrestrial television channels.
Learning Direct has a key role in the Government's commitment to creating a learning society. Because of its success, we recently announced an increase in its budget to £6.25 million for the 1999–2000 financial year. This will enable us to develop and expand the service to prepare for the extra demand for learning advice and information created by the University for Industry, scheduled to be launched in the year 2000.