§ Mr. SarwarTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the visit of the Minister for Employment, Welfare to Work and Equal Opportunities to the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations in June. [128090]
§ Ms JowellI visited the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations on 22 June in response to their kind invitation to be the keynote speaker at their annual conference on New Deal. During what proved to be a very successful conference I congratulated the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations and its member organisations for the significant contribution they had made to the successful delivery of New Deal in Scotland. I outlined the various measures that were being, or would be, taken further to improve the help New Deal can give to particularly disadvantaged young people and those who are long term unemployed. The SCVO video on the Voluntary Sector Option in Scotland was launched and an award presented to the 4000th young person to enter the option in Scotland. I looked forward to a continuation of the partnership working between SCVO, its members, the Employment Service and other New Deal partners that has been a special feature of the delivery of the option in Scotland.