§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what amount of money has been spent on voluntary and community services by each Connexions partnership since 2001. [161031]
§ Margaret Hodge[holding answer 12 March 2004]The amount spent on voluntary and community services by each Connexions Partnership is collected via management accounts which are commercially confidential. The total amount spent by Partnerships on the voluntary and community sector in each year is as follows:
£ million 2001–02 2.6 2002–03 10.1 2003–04 116.0 1 Based on latest data to December 2003.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total budget is of Connexions Direct in 2003–04. [161034]
§ Margaret Hodge[holding answer 12 March 2004]The total budget of Connexions Direct, a telephone helpline and internet service for 13–19 year olds, is £3.36 million for 2003–04.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many(a) personal advisers and (b) staff are employed by Connexions Direct. [161035]
§ Margaret Hodge[holding answer 12 March 2004]: 40 Connexions Direct advisers (28.3 Full Time Equivalent) and seven managerial and support staff (6.75 Full Time Equivalent) are employed by Connexions Direct. Separately, three staff are employed by the contractor (Ufl) in a management role.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether it is his Department's policy to make local authorities act as lead bodies for the receipt of Connexions partnerships grants; and if he will make a statement. [161069]
§ Margaret HodgeIt is not our policy to compel Connexions partnerships to adopt any particular arrangements for the receipt of Connexions grant. However we are encouraging partnerships to improve their tax efficiency. Connexions partnerships which have a local authority acting as a lead body are more tax efficient than other structural models. Where local authorities act as the lead body for receipt of the grant they do so voluntarily and with the agreement of the Board of the Connexions Partnership.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which is the lead body for receipt of grant for the London Central Connexions Partnership. [161071]
§ Margaret HodgeThe Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea is the lead body for receipt of the grant for the London Central Connexions Partnership.
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§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of the total Connexions budget in 2003–04 is spent on providing careers guidance. [161073]
§ Margaret HodgeDetails of the amount spent by Connexions partnerships on providing careers guidance are not collected. We provide broad guidance to partnerships about their statutory duties and it is for them to decide how best to meet the needs of their area.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total budget was of the Careers Service, prior to the establishment of the Connexions Service, in each year since 1997. [161074]
§ Margaret HodgeTotal annual expenditure on the Careers Service from 1998 onwards was as follows:
£million 1998–99 1198 1999–2000 228 2000–01 239 2001–02 174 2002–03 52 1Estimated Data for the years prior to 1998–99 are not available. Decreasing expenditure from 2001–02 reflects the gradual introduction of the Connexions service across England.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of Connexions partnerships' VAT liability his Department will meet in 2004–05. [161076]
§ Margaret HodgeBased on estimated VAT costs provided by Connexions Partnerships, we will be able to meet around 30 per cent. of these costs in 2004–05.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools(a) have a Connexions resource centre, (b) are being fitted with a Connexions resource centre and (c) have no Connexions resource centre in each Connexions partnership area. [161087]
§ Margaret HodgeMy department does not collect information on the number of Connexions resource centres in schools.
In our guidance to Partnerships we require them to use part of their grant to provide financial support for setting up and maintaining Connexions resource centres in schools. Connexions Partnerships are responsible for ensuring that this requirement is met.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidelines are provided for the staffing of Connexions resource centres in schools. [161088]
§ Margaret HodgeNo specific guidelines have been issued to Connexions Partnerships in relation to the staffing of Connexions resource centres in schools.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the proportion of parents who have been aware of the services offered by Connexions in each Connexions partnership area in each year since 2001. [161090]
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§ Margaret HodgeInformation on the proportion of parents who are aware of the services offered by Connexions is not collected centrally.
Publicity campaigns and selected publications, including the recently published Parents and Carers of Year 9 Students' booklet, are raising awareness of Connexions among parents. Connexions partnerships supplement nationally produced publicity material with their own publications targeted at young people, parents and carers.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidelines are given to Connexions partnerships regarding the monitoring and supervision of personal advisers who are working towards an NVQ level 4 equivalent in a relevant professional discipline. [161092]
§ Margaret HodgeAll Connexions partnerships are required to have a clear, written supervision policy; a training and development policy; and appropriate processes in place to support them. In line with these policies, individual partnerships assess the level of supervision required for personal advisers depending on their level of experience, and their duties.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how long a young person has had to wait on average to speak to a Connexions personal adviser in each Connexions partnership; and what the target waiting time is for a young person to talk to a Connexions personal adviser in person. [161094]
§ Margaret HodgeInformation on how long a young person has to wait to see a Connexions personal adviser is not collected centrally.
Connexions Partnerships are required to publish a Youth Charter, prepared in collaboration with young people, which sets out minimum standards for accessing personal advisers, including outside normal office hours. In addition, from April 2004, Connexions Direct the telephone and web based help line, will be available nationally to all young people 18 hours a day, 365 days a year.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many under-18 conceptions there were in each of the Connexions partnership areas in each year since 2001. [161096]
§ Margaret HodgeThe numbers of under-18 conceptions in each Connexions partnership area for 2001 and 2002, the latest years for which this information is available, are set out in the table. It must be noted that this data predates the launch of the majority of Connexions Partnerships.
The figures for 2001 and 2002 are provisional. They are taken from National Statistics, 'Conception statistics for local authorities 1998–2002'. Data should be considered in light of increases in population between 2001 and 2002.
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Partnerships 20011 20022 Bedfordshire and Luton 413 430 Berkshire 510 513 Birmingham and Solihull 1,198 1,176 Black Country 1,219 1,248 Bournemouth Dorset and Poole 416 382
Partnerships 20011 20022 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 469 465 Central London 1,350 1,418 Cheshire and Warrington 544 590 County Durham 398 468 Coventry and Warwickshire 702 709 Cumbria 315 323 Derbyshire 676 648 Devon and Cornwall 1,019 1,074 East London 2,091 2,093 Essex Southend and Thurrock 1,019 1,048 Gloucestershire 387 371 Greater Manchester 2,549 2,507 Greater Merseyside 1,394 1,362 Herefordshire and Worcestershire 440 485 Hertfordshire 547 565 Humber 869 864 Kent and Medway 1,218 1,180 Lancashire 1,218 1,324 Leicestershire 588 594 Lincolnshire and Rutland 494 471 Milton Keynes Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire 761 790 Norfolk 509 497 North London 889 1,019 Northamptonshire 507 552 Northumberland 215 238 Nottinghamshire 811 897 Shropshire Telford and Wrekin 358 331 Somerset 300 322 South Central 1,218 1,192 South London 851 904 South Yorkshire 1,258 1,312 Staffordshire 842 892 Suffolk 351 402 Surrey 485 466 Sussex 830 887 Tees Valley 703 720 Tyne and Wear 1,073 1,132 West London 1,020 1,070 West of England 682 610 West Yorkshire 1,886 1,901 Wiltshire and Swindon 426 401 York and North Yorkshire 421 443 1 Conceptions for 2001 are provisional. 2 Provisional estimates based on incomplete abortions data.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the level of awareness of the Connexions service among those young people not in education, employment or training. [161099]
§ Margaret HodgeA survey of over 16,000 young people by my Department in 2003 showed that 93 per cent. of young people in need of intensive support, including those who were not in education, employment or training, were aware of the Connexions Service.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the proportion of careers guidance provided by the private sector. [161072]
§ Margaret Hodge21 out of the 47 Connexions partnerships operate a subcontracted delivery model, where private companies deliver the Connexions service, including careers advice and guidance, to young people in that Partnership area.
§ Charles HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to reduce the running costs of the Connexions service in 2004–05; and if he will make a statement. [157512]
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§ Margaret Hodge[holding answer 1 March 2004]There are no plans to reduce the grant to Connexions Partnerships in 2004–05. In addition to the grant, we had set aside funds to support Connexions Partnerships' VAT commitments on a temporary basis. In 2004–05, this will be less than had been originally planned but will still amount to some £12 million.