HC Deb 29 October 2002 vol 391 cc714-5W
Mr. Hendry

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people have visited Connexions, seeking advice, in each region in which it operates. [77349]

Mr. Stephen Twigg

Information is not collected in the exact format requested; however the following table shows the number of occasions that young people have received assistance in each region since April 2001. Young people may have received assistance on more than one occasion. 2001–02 and 2002–03 are shown separately as different definitions of management information have been used in the two years, reflecting the move away from counting all contacts with young people to recording only those of a substantial nature.

Region April 2001 to March 20021(assistance given) April 2002 to September 20022(interventions)
South East 74,266 50,250
London 126,849 95,077
East of England 35,345 66,770
South West 188,858 148,272
West Midlands 259,249 161,362
East Midlands 58,532 98,792
Yorkshire and The Humber 148,245 140,472
North West 366,093 282,200
North East 0 83,207
England 1,257,437 1,126,402
1Data relate to 15 Connexions Partnerships which were launched before March 2002. There were no Connexions Partnerships operating in the North East during this period.
2Data relate to 41 Connexions Partnerships (including the 15 partnerships referred to above) which were launched before the end of September 2002.

Mr. Hendry

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the annual budget for the Connexions service is, broken down by region. [77350]

Mr. Stephen Twigg

[holding answer 28 October2002]: In total £334,627,254 was allocated to Connexions Partnerships in 2002–03. The regional totals are as follows:

£
South East 32,060,363
London 58,091,947
East of England 29,063,827
South West 34,644,952
West Midlands 44,858,545
East Midlands 26,890,604
Yorkshire and the Humber 34,626,011
North West 54,093,700
North East 20,297,304

Mr. Hendry

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what grants have been made to voluntary organisations working with young people by the Connexions service, for each region in which it operates. [77351]

Mr. Stephen Twigg

[holding answer 28 October 2002]: 15 Connexions partnerships became operational through the course of 2001–02. Details of grants provided by these partnerships to voluntary and community organisations in 2001–02 by English region are as given in the table. Connexions partnerships will be allocating grants throughout the year so figures for 2002–03 are not currently available.

Grants to voluntary and community organisations 2001–02
£000
Eastern 109
East Midlands
London 453
North East
North West 505
South East
South West 605
West Midlands 738
Yorkshire and the Humber 216
Totals 2,626

Note:

These figures are as reported to the Connexions Service National Unit by Government offices for the regions. No Connexions partnerships were operational in the north east during 2001–02. In the east midlands and south east only one partnership was operational in each region during 2001–02. Grant arrangements in these partnerships had not been finalised at the time so figures are unavailable. The total represents 4.17 per cent. of the total grant allocation to partnerships by the Connexions Service National Unit.