§ Mr. HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what funding programmes are operated by his Department to support voluntary organisations working with young people; and what the level of support has been over the last three years.[116493]
§ Mr. BrowneThe Department funds contracts, directly and indirectly with a number of voluntary organisations to deliver the support available through the New Deal Programmes, including New Deal for Young People. Information is not available on the exact level of support made through these channels.
Each Government Department produces a Learning to Listen Action Plan every year. This year's plan for the Department for Work and Pensions will be published online shortly. Learning to Listen is the embodiment of our commitment to engaging with children and young people pursuant to creating effective policies.
We strongly believe in listening to the voices of children and young people. Recent examples of our commitment in this area are the varied consultations held with children and young people during the measuring child poverty consultation and the visit to DWP of the UK Youth Parliament.
As part of celebrating the European Year of Disabled People, the Department is funding 167 projects in the voluntary sector, which aim to promote disability issues in a positive light. Many of these projects do include young people as participants or beneficiaries. In the 2002-03 financial year, we provided some £1,130,000 of Government funding to these projects. We plan to provide some £630,000 of Government funds and £550,000 of EC funds over the next two years.