§ Mr. HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what online information services for young people receive funding from his Department; and what the level of funding is for each service. [120527]
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggThe Department for Education and Skills funds Connexions Direct, a telephone helpline and internet service for 13–19 year olds at a cost of £2.2 million in 2003–04. Connexions Direct complements the face to face delivery of services provided by local Connexions partnerships by offering remote information, advice and support to young people on a wide range of issues that constitute barriers to learning.
The Connexions Direct website currently provides a range of information for young people. To enhance this, the Department has commissioned Uf1 to produce a single national course database covering post 16 learning opportunities. The funding for this is £100,000 in 2003–04.
The Department is also leading on the development of a customer-focused, cross-Government young people's internet portal, which aims to provide easy access to everything young people want and need to know on the web, from Government and non-Government sources. The portal is due to be launched in September 2003, and the budget for 2003£04 is £163,000.
In addition, the Department supports websites providing targeted information for young people. The Children and Young People's Unit (CYPU) website provides information for 0–19 year olds on various aspects of the Unit's work ranging from the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child to the Youth Advisory Forum. The budget for 2003–04 is £600,000. CYPU is also contributing to the development of the Youth Portal. The Connexions Card website provides information for young people aged 16–19 on the benefits of using the card. The budget for 2003–04 is £200,000.