§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding his Department has targeted on preventive education programmes about(a) drugs and (b) youth offending; what funding is targeted at vulnerable groups; and if he will make a statement. [82711]
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggThe Department recognises the importance of preventative activity and ensuring that support reaches those most in need and we have made significant funding available to facilitate this.
(a) Drug, alcohol and tobacco education in the curriculum is funded via the Standards Fund. This funding, made available to local education authorities (LEAs) is to support the training of teachers and deliver effective drug, alcohol and tobacco education and prevention programmes. £15.5 million has been made available in 2002–03 and this will rise to £17.5 million in 2003–04. The breakdown for 2002–03 is: Standards Fund Drug Prevention Grant— £7.5 million; Standards Fund Drug Education Advisers Grant— £5.7 million; Teacher training and Connexions Adviser training £2.3 million. The breakdowns for 2003–04 have not yet been announced.
This increase will improve the quality and coverage of drug, alcohol and tobacco education, fund drug adviser support in each LEA and help teachers deliver programmes tailor-made to meet the needs of young people across the country, including those most vulnerable to the risks of drug misuse.
(b)Through our Behaviour Improvement Programme, we have allocated £50 million to 34 LEAs with high rates of street crime and truancy to work with targeted schools in improving behaviour and attendance. Under the Programme, this summer, we allocated a further £16 million to the Connexions Partnerships covering the 34 LEAs to provide key workers and diversionary activities for over 9,000 of the young people in those areas most at risk of offending.
The Connexions Service brings together a wide range of agencies to provide information, advice, guidance and support to all young people aged 13–19, but with a 93W sharp focus on those who need it most. I announced last week that funding for Connexions will rise to £515 million by 2005–06. The vision statement for Connexions that I issued last week, along with ministerial colleagues across Whitehall, reaffirms our joint commitment to securing better outcomes for this age group, but specifically around increasing the number who participate in education training and employment and reducing the number of young people who become involved in crime.