§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how effective the Experience Corps (TEC) project has been to date; how many people have participated; what the average age is of participants; what range of placements they are assisting with; what benchmarks are being used to determine the effectiveness of the project; how much money has been allocated to the scheme each year; what TEC activity exists in the Government Office North East region; and if he will make a statement. [121642]
§ Fiona MactaggartThe Experience Corps is a national initiative with the aim of encouraging more people aged 50 and over to become or to remain active in their local communities.
The latest figures supplied by the Experience Corps show that around 111,560 volunteers have been recruited since the initiative began and that they have placed over 70,000 volunteers. They report that the average age of the volunteers is just under 61. They have over 423,000 opportunities available in a wide range of 550W roles, for example driving for the Red Cross, helping out it Dorset based cricket clubs, or acting as ground crew volunteers for the Great North Air Ambulance.
The effectiveness of the Experience Corps will be determined by the extent to which they achieve targets set in respect of the recruitment and retention of volunteers. The main one is that by 2004 they should recruit 250,000 volunteers reflecting the diversity of people over 50.
The Home Office has allocated the Experience Corps a total of £19.9 million, broken down as £5.5million/ £7.2million/£7.2million for the three years to March 2004. A recent evaluation of the Experience Corps raised some concerns surrounding their figures on volunteer recruitment. In the light of this we are currently considering options for funding beyond that date.
The Experience Corps report that they have just under 10,000 people actively involved in projects in the north-east. They work with a number of partner organisations in a variety of projects which demonstrate the intergenerational aspects of their work; they are a recruiter for HANE (Housing Action North East) launched by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister last November with some 400 volunteers supporting homeless people throughout the region taking up tenancies for the first time; and they work with the Sikh and Hindu communities in Newcastle and Sunderland, for example holding a SEVA event at a Hindu temple.