Connexions Service (Hansard, 19 April 2000)

§ Mr. Boswell
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the current annual level of public expenditure on the statutory and voluntary youth services, guidance and educational welfare; and if he will make a statement on the amount of such spending to be(a) retained, (b) transferred to the ConneXions service and (c) made available to ConneXions as additional public expenditure. [117245]

§ Mr. Wicks
[holding answer 3 April 2000]: The provisional figure for the level of expenditure by local authorities in England on the Youth Service in 1998–99, the latest year for which figures are available, is £267 million. It includes grants and services to the voluntary youth sector from local authority youth services. In addition, the Department for Education and Employment provides £4 million per annum to the voluntary youth services through the National Voluntary Youth Organisation Grant Scheme. Public expenditure on the careers service in England, in 1999–2000, is expected to be £228 million and on the New Start initiative, £5.8 million. Public expenditure on the Educational Welfare Service in England, in 1999–2000, is expected to be £80.5 million.
The resources for the ConneXions Service will come from the bringing together of existing resources devoted to youth support and guidance. The whole of the current careers service and New Start budgets will be routed 559W through the ConneXions Service. Other services will contribute to ConneXions in practical ways without a formal transfer of resources.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what is his estimate of the cost of the human resource audit referred to in Chapter 6 of the paper, "ConneXions"; [119277]
(2) when he expects to (a) commence and (b) complete the audit of the human resource implications of existing and additional advice and support services provided by his Department and other agencies, referred to in Chapter 6 of the paper, "ConneXions". [119276]

§ Mr. Wicks
Following the publication of the "ConneXions" document, officials from a number of Government Departments are currently undertaking an audit of the human resource implications of a range of new and existing advice and support services for young people. This study will inform the ConneXions Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group's strategy for implementing the Service and the Year 2000 Spending Review.
The estimated cost of consulting with external partners, including the cost of a specialist consultant, is £15,500.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many persons he expects to be employed in the(a) ConneXions Service National Unit and (b) ConneXions Partnerships at local learning and skills council level following the full implementation of the ConneXions Service. [119260]

§ Mr. Wicks
The ConneXions Service National Unit will largely be staffed by existing civil servants from a range of Government Departments but will also draw on secondees from the voluntary, youth and private sectors where appropriate. The structure of the new National Unit, including the staffing complement, will be for the new Chief Executive to determine when appointed.
At local Learning and Skills Council level, staffing will be a matter for determination by local ConneXions Partnerships.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has for the training of learning mentors and personal advisers in the ConneXions Service. [119264]

§ Mr. Wicks
The ConneXions Service will be delivered through a network of Personal Advisers—who, in the school setting, will be known as Learning Mentors. This emerging new profession will be supported by a comprehensive training programme to ensure that those moving into the Personal Adviser role have the appropriate skills and knowledge for the job. We will shortly be consulting widely on the structure of the professional and training framework for Personal Advisers.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many officials in his Department are engaged in the implementation of his proposals for learning mentors. [119263]

§ Mr. Wicks
For the implementation of the current programme of Learning Mentors within Excellence in Cities areas, three officials within DfEE are employed full time. A number of others are involved in the wider development of Excellence in Cities.
560W
My Department also contains a team dealing with professional formation issues within the ConneXions Service. These issues include the role and training of Personal Advisers, who, in a school context, will be similar to Learning Mentors. The team contains six members.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what his timetable is for the implementation of his proposals in respect of personal advisers in the ConneXions service. [119268]

§ Mr. Wicks
There will be a phased introduction of the ConneXions service from April 2001 over a two to three year period. This will allow time to recruit and train the staff needed for the service. It is expected that in the initial stages of implementation the majority of personal advisers will be drawn from existing careers service and youth service practitioners, along with others from a wide range of backgrounds in the voluntary, public and private sectors with the necessary experience and aptitude to work effectively with young people.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what estimate he has made of(a) the start-up costs, (b) the running cost in each of the next three years and (c) the annual running cost following full implementation of the learning mentor scheme of the ConneXions service; [119275]
(2) which partners he expects to pool resources currently devoted to youth support and guidance in order to fund the ConneXions service, referred to in paragraph 6.4 of the paper, ConneXions; and what estimate he has made of the resources he expects each such partner to make available. [119278]

§ Mr. Wicks
The ConneXions strategy document, "ConneXions: The best start in life for every young person" sets out the key services that will contribute to the ConneXions service. These will include careers services, youth services, Youth Offending Teams, the Educational Welfare Service, Learning Mentors and Care Leaver Personal Advisers.
The whole of the current careers service budget, and also the budget for New Start, will be routed through the ConneXions service. Public expenditure on the careers service in England, in 1999–2000, was planned to be £228 million, and on New Start £5.8 million. Other partners will be expected to contribute to the ConneXions service the appropriate parts of their existing support services for young people, but funding will not be formally transferred to the new service. As a first step, local ConneXions partnerships will be mapping current provision and auditing existing resources as well as local needs. This will inform local delivery plans and decisions about the speed of implementation of the service. Once the information is available, we will be clearer on the resources local partners can make available, the level of start up costs, and the build up of running costs. We are also considering what additional resources will be needed and can be made available as part of the Government's Year 2000 Spending Review.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many personal advisers will be required for the full implementation of the proposals in the paper, "ConneXions"; [119265]
561W
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of learning mentors who will be required for the full implementation of his proposals for the ConneXions service; [119273]
(3) what estimate he has made of the cost of training enough personal advisers to implement fully the ConneXions service; [119267]
(4) what plans he has for the identification and recruitment of learning mentors for the ConneXions service; [119271]
(5) what estimate he has made of the number of persons who will be recruited as personal advisers in addition to persons already employed in the support and guidance of young people in order to fully implement his proposals for the ConneXions service. [119262]

§ Mr. Wicks
We are currently examining the precise numbers of personal advisers required by the ConneXions service—who, within schools, will be known as Learning Mentors, based on the needs of different groups of young people. Piloting of the service, which has just started, will provide useful information on the operation of the personal adviser, caseloads and numbers needed.
It is expected that in the initial stages of implementation the majority of personal advisers will be drawn from existing careers service and youth service practitioners, along with others from a wide range of backgrounds in the voluntary, public and private sectors with the necessary experience and aptitude to work effectively with young people.
We will ensure that sufficient resources are available to train people moving into the role of personal adviser. A comprehensive training programme will be put in place to ensure that personal advisers have the appropriate skills and knowledge for the role and meet agreed standards for the profession. To help this process we will shortly be consulting widely on the structure of the professional and training framework for personal advisers.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proposals he has for the vetting of learning mentors. [119274]

§ Mr. Wicks
For Learning Mentors in the Excellence in Cities programme, as with any school employee, authorities and schools should conduct all necessary background and other checks to verify the suitability of those applying to work with children and young people.
ConneXions Partnerships will be required to ensure that personal advisers employed within the ConneXions Service have met recruitment specifications. These include: ensuring that personal checks including criminal background checks have been completed prior to employment; that they have attended or agreed to attend appropriate training at a recognised centre offering approved personal adviser foundation training; and that they work effectively in the role of personal adviser to the standards agreed for the role including, for example, the practical application of equal opportunities and diversity.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many meetings he has held with proposed external partners in the Connexions Service. [119270]
562W

§ Mr. Wicks
My fellow ministers and I have had a substantial number of meetings with proposed external partners in the ConneXions Service. There have also been frequent meetings at official level.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment on what dates the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on the Connexions Strategy has met; when it next plans to meet; and if he will list the members of the group. [119269]

§ Mr. Wicks
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has chaired two meetings of the "Bridging The Gap" Ministerial Steering Group at which the ConneXions Service—a central part of the overall ConneXions Strategy—was one of the key areas for discussion. The meetings were held on 28 September 1999 and 8 November 1999. In addition to my right hon. Friend, the members of this group are: my noble Friend the Minister of State, Department for Education and Employment; the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State responsible for Lifelong Learning; my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, North (Mr. Wicks); the Financial Secretary to the Treasury; the Minister of State, Home Office; the Minister for the Arts; the Minister of State, Department of Health; the Minister for Local Government and the Regions; the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security; the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales; special advisers from the Prime Minister's office and my Department; and officials from the Social Exclusion Unit. In addition I have held a number of bilateral meetings about the ConneXions Service with other Government Departments.
Senior officials from across Government have met on 16 occasions since November 1999 to consider the arrangements for introducing the ConneXions Service. Implementation issues are now being overseen by an inter-Departmental ConneXions Group which will meet for the first time shortly.

§ Mr. Clappison
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what consultations he has carried out with parents regarding personal advisers in the ConneXions Service. [119261]

§ Mr. Wicks
Personal Advisers will work with parents and carers to ensure that young people receive the right information, guidance and support at the right time. It is therefore important that we involve them in the development of the ConneXions Service. We have already sought young people's views through a range of consultation methods and we aim to do the same with parents and carers as the ConneXions pilots are rolled out. This will ensure that the service supports parents in their vital role.