HC Deb 19 December 2002 vol 396 c969W
Mr. Phil Willis

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Connexions Card will have an electronic purse to(a) manage payments from Education Maintenance Allowances paid by LEAs and (b) manage training allowances paid by the Learning and Skills Council. [87957]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

There are no plans for the Connexions Card to have an electronic purse for the purposes of managing payments from Education Maintenance Allowances or training allowances.

Mr. Willis

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the Connexions Card is to be launched. [87958]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

The Connexions Card is now available to all 16 to 19-year-olds in England.

From February 2003, there will be an extensive national launch programme of activities aimed at young people across England.

Mr. Willis

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many personal advisors worked for the Connexions Service in(a) 2001–02 and (b)2002–03. [87959]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

The information in the table below shows the number of full time equivalent personal advisers who had worked for the Connexions Service in the last two years.

Period Number of personal advisers (full time equivalents) Number of operational Connexions Partnerships
2001–02 2,175.9 15
2002–031 5,958.9 42
1 Data available to end October 2002