HC Deb 20 January 1999 vol 323 cc499-501W
Mr. Chaytor

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many calls each month to Learning Direct are provided for in the contract with his Department. [66354]

Mr. Mudie

In its first year of operation, the DfEE set Learning Direct a target of 250,000 calls. Specific monthly targets were not set.

Mr. Chaytor

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what evidence he has of successful referrals by the Learning Direct helpline overall and broken down by(a) age, (b) sex, (c) employment status, (d) region and (e) qualifications. [66358]

Mr. Mudie

It is too early to measure the success of referrals by the Learning Direct helpline. Information on follow up action of callers will be made available as part of the evaluation process of the helpline later in the year.

Mr. Chaytor

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what are the most common areas of inquiry made to the Learning Direct helpline. [66357]

Mr. Mudie

The most common areas of inquiry made to the Learning Direct helpline are requests for information and advice on Further Education (33 per cent. of calls), information technology and computers (18 per cent.) professional development (17 per cent.) and Higher Education (15 per cent.). Inquiries to the helpline are, however, dependent to some extent on the nature of marketing of Learning Direct and associated broadcaster campaigns.

Mr. Chaytor

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people have telephoned the Learning Direct helpline during each month of its operation. [66353]

Mr. Mudie

There were 406,069 successful callers to the Learning Direct helpline during the period from its official launch on 25 February to the end of December 1998. A monthly breakdown is as follows:

Number
February 5,241
March 15,654
April 11,970
May 165,816
June 78,272
July 23,400
August 28,987
September 26,710
October 21,496
November 15,314
December 13,209

Mr. Chaytor

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the percentage of callers to the Learning Direct helpline who succeed in reaching an operator(a) on average and (b) at the busiest times. [66263]

Mr. Mudie

Currently, 86 per cent. of callers to Learning Direct are successful in reaching an operator. The figures for callers at the busiest times are not available.

Mr. Chaytor

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of callers to the Learning Direct helpline get through at the first attempt(a) on average and (b) at the busiest times. [66355]

Mr. Mudie

A recent independent evaluation of Learning Direct showed that, on average, 77 per cent. of those using Learning Direct were connected at the first attempt. The figures for callers at the busiest times are not available.

Mr. Chaytor

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will publish a breakdown of callers to the Learning Direct helpline by(a) age, (b) sex, (c) employment status and (d) highest qualification gained. [66356]

Mr. Mudie

Learning Direct offers a confidential service to callers. Therefore, a breakdown of all callers is not available. Based on a 10 per cent. random sample, the breakdown of callers to Learning Direct is as follows:

Percentage
(a) Age
Up to 17 2
18–25 18
26–35 34
36–45 24
46–55 11
56–65 6
65+ 5
(b) Sex
Male 44
Female 56
(c) Employment Status
Employed 46
Self-employed 3
Reg. Unemployed 18

Percentage
Retired 10
In education 8
Woman returner 10
Other 5
(d) Highest qualification gained
Postgraduate or professional qualification 19
First degree 16
GCE A level, HND/C 17
CSE, GCSE and equivalent 33
Other 7
No qualification 8