§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on enrolment of personal advisers for the Connexions Service. [27667]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisThe numbers of Personal Advisers (PAs) working in Connexions Partnerships since the Service was launched in April 2001 have risen steadily as partnerships have established their infrastructures. At the end of November, 1,820 PAs were in post in the 15 partnerships that are fully operational, representing nearly three quarters of the first year's PA recruitment estimates provided by Partnerships in their business plans.
PAs are being recruited from a range of backgrounds, including careers, education and youth services. Steps have been taken to widen the age and ethnic mix of PAs. Data from PA training records indicate that 12 per cent. of
Academic years 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 (i) United Kingdom 1 or more A* to C 70.2 71.4 71.7 72.7 73.9 74.8 75.1 5 or more A* to C 44.4 45.5 46.2 47.5 49.1 50.4 51.0 (ii) Somerset 1 or more A* to C 74.9 75.6 75.5 77.1 78.0 79.0 79.0 5 or more A* to C 47.7 50.0 48.9 51.2 52.7 55.3 54.6 5 or more A* to G 90.8 91.4 92.5 92.3 93.7 93.4 93.0 (iii) Yeovil constituency 1 or more A* to C 76.2 76.4 76.4 79.3 79.9 80.7 79.8 5 or more A* to C 48.1 53.4 50.4 52.6 53.1 56.8 54.0 5 or more A* to G 94.6 92.6 93.5 95.3 94.3 94.4 94.7 The information on those achieving five or more grades A* to G is not available for the United Kingdom.