§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the Experience Corps Scheme. [130722]
§ Fiona MactaggartThe experience corps has been a useful project, which has enabled us to learn a number of lessons about attracting older volunteers. The experience corps were recently evaluated and the findings suggest that there were concerns surrounding their figures on volunteer recruitment. While they have attracted a significant number of volunteers, they are likely to fall short of their target.
Our current funding agreement with the experience corps comes to an end in March 2004. We have decided not to continue to fund the experience corps beyond that date. We are still, however, committed to encouraging older people to volunteer.