§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many staff were employed in the Connexions Service National Unit at the time of its establishment; and what the number is now [110196]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisThe Connexions Service National Unit was set up between July 2000, when the Chief Executive took up post, and April 2001, when the first Connexions Partnerships went live. There were 168 staff in post on 01 April 2001.
As well as supporting the delivery of Connexions, CSNU also has responsibility for other Youth Support Services such as Millennium Volunteers, Neighbourhood Support Fund, the Voluntary and Statutory Youth Service. More recently, the Unit has also assumed responsibility for implementation of the DfES volunteering strategy; the DfES strategy on involving children and young people (Listening to Learn); the department's relationship with the voluntary and community sector (including the cross cutting review of the voluntary sector with HMT and Home Office) and the Summer/Diversionary Activities Programme. There are currently 187 staff in post.