§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what uses(a) ParentLine and (b) the National Family and Parenting Institute have put grant given to them from public funds since publication of the consultation document, Supporting Families; and if he will make a statement. [111806]
§ Mr. StrawIn the first year of their three year grant from the Home Office; ParentLine has launched a new national freephone number, with expanded operating hours. ParentLine has expanded its call taking capacity by taking on and training volunteers, and has developed a national structure, training, standards and call data analysis. ParentLine has expanded its call-taking capacity from 12,000 to 80,000, and will reach its eventual target of 500,000 calls per year by April 2002.
The National Family and Parenting Institute (NFPI) was formally incorporated as a company with a board of trustees in April 1999. The first Chief Executive, Mary McLeod, was appointed in September and started work in October. Government funding for the NFPI began in October 1999. Since then, the Institute had its official launch in November, and has been engaged in recruiting staff, locating premises, and building a strategy and corporate plan. A key focus for these first months is developing awareness of the role and vision of the NFPI, and raising the profile of parenting and family issues in the media.
The Institute has also started on some major pieces of work that will be completed by the end of this year. For example, the Institute has begun an exercise to map 109W the support available to families at local level across the country. They will also take forward a face to face survey of parents to ask them about the support they want.