Pregnant Teenagers (Hansard, 26 November 2001)

§ Dr. Kumar
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what specialist support is available to young women who are(a) pregnant, (b) have children and (c) have other caring responsibilities to enable them to continue their education (i) in England, (ii) in the Teeside region and (iii) in Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency. [16263]

§ Mr. Ivan Lewis
One of the main objectives of the Government's Teenage Pregnancy strategy, being implemented and co-ordinated by the Teenage Pregnancy Unit, is to increase the numbers of teenage parents participating in education, training or employment. Support includesSure Start Plus advisers providing personal support and advice to pregnant teenagers and teenage parents under 18. The Teeside pilot programme began in October 2001 and will run for three years in Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton on Tees and Hartlepool, with an annual grant of £200,000. It is one of 20 such pilot programmes that will be fully evaluated before national roll out is considered. Teenage Pregnancy Reintegration Officers, currently available in Middlesbrough and in April 2002, in Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees. They are funded through the Standards Fund Teenage Pregnancy Grant and will help young women back into school after giving birth.

Areas covered at present Future areas

Sure Start Plus Pilots Teeside, Tyne and Wear, south east London, south Yorkshire coalfields, Manchester and Salford, Liverpool and St. Helens, east London, Bradford, Sheffield, Sandwell, Nottingham City, Kingston upon Hull, Wakefield, Walsall, Leicester, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton, Plymouth, Rochdale None planned

Teenage Pregnancy Reintegration Officers (coverage by LEA) Barking and Dagenham, Barnsley, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bradford, Camden, Coventry, Cumbria, Doncaster, Durham, east Sussex, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Hartlepool, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Hull, Knowsley, Lambeth, Lancashire, Leeds, Lewisham, Lincolnshire, Liverpool, Manchester, Middlesbrough, north east Lincolnshire, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newham, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Nottingham, Rotherham, Salford, Sandwell, Sheffield, South Tyneside, Southwark, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Telford and Wrekin, Tower Hamlets, Walsall, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Westminster To be reviewed

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§ Margaret Hodge
[holding answer 21 November 2001]: The total budget for the Learning and Skills Council's Standards Fund this year is £160 million. The total number of funding streams, and the budget for each stream are shown in the table, along with the total number of projects supported to date within the ranges specified.
Furthermore, the Connexions Service being rolled out across England will give all 13 to 19-year-olds access to a Personal Adviser to help co-ordinate this specialist support. Where they exist, Sure Start Plus advisers will usually act as Connexions Personal Advisers to avoid duplication of effort.
Details of whereabouts this support is/will be available across England are set out in the table.
In addition, 193 Sure Start programmes are currently operating across England, of which eight are based in Teeside, providing valuable support to parents and their young children. By March 2004, 500 Sure Start programmes will be up and running. There are also some 17 projects across Teeside, many of which cross constituency boundaries, funded by the Single Regeneration Budget (in excess of £4 million) helping young women to continue in education. DfES is also funding a pilot childminding project in four areas of England (Blackpool, North East Lincolnshire, Greenwich and Barking and Dagenham), specifically aimed to get teenage parents back into education, training or work.
The Government published the National Strategy for carers in 1999. An extra £325 million over five years is helping local authorities to provide a wide range of services to help carers, including young carers. Guidance was also issued to schools in supporting young carers. There are over 100 local projects operating across the country and links to these and support for young carers can be accessed through the Connexions Service, Learning Mentors and Education Welfare Officers.
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Areas covered at present Future areas

Connexions (Partnership areas) Cornwall and Devon, Coventry and Warwickshire, Lincolnshire and Rutland, London north, London south, Cumbria, west of England, Black Country, Milton Keynes and Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, Shropshire and Telford and the Wrekin, Cheshire and Warrington, south Yorkshire, Humber, Suffolk, Merseyside 19 more areas submitting plans for April 2002 start, remaining 13 (including Tees Valley) by 2003.

	Areas covered at present	Future areas
Sure Start Plus Pilots	Teeside, Tyne and Wear, south east London, south Yorkshire coalfields, Manchester and Salford, Liverpool and St. Helens, east London, Bradford, Sheffield, Sandwell, Nottingham City, Kingston upon Hull, Wakefield, Walsall, Leicester, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton, Plymouth, Rochdale	None planned
Teenage Pregnancy Reintegration Officers (coverage by LEA)	Barking and Dagenham, Barnsley, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bradford, Camden, Coventry, Cumbria, Doncaster, Durham, east Sussex, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Hartlepool, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Hull, Knowsley, Lambeth, Lancashire, Leeds, Lewisham, Lincolnshire, Liverpool, Manchester, Middlesbrough, north east Lincolnshire, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newham, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Nottingham, Rotherham, Salford, Sandwell, Sheffield, South Tyneside, Southwark, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Telford and Wrekin, Tower Hamlets, Walsall, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Westminster	To be reviewed

	Areas covered at present	Future areas
Connexions (Partnership areas)	Cornwall and Devon, Coventry and Warwickshire, Lincolnshire and Rutland, London north, London south, Cumbria, west of England, Black Country, Milton Keynes and Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, Shropshire and Telford and the Wrekin, Cheshire and Warrington, south Yorkshire, Humber, Suffolk, Merseyside	19 more areas submitting plans for April 2002 start, remaining 13 (including Tees Valley) by 2003.