HC Deb 29 April 2004 vol 420 cc1264-5W
Mr. Woodward

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the Government's policy is on the recruitment of 16 to 24-year-old millennium volunteers; and how many have been recruited(a) in total and (b) in St. Helens South. [165332]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

The Department's Spending Review settlement provided funding for the MV programme at national level of £15 million a year for the period to March 2006. The Millennium Volunteers (MV) programme, which forms part of the Connexions Service portfolio of services for young people, provides volunteering opportunities for young people aged between 16 and 24 to engage with their local communities. To date over 136,000 young people have participated in the programme in England, with nearly 67,000 completing 100 hours or more of volunteering. We do not hold the information on the number of volunteers in St. Helens South.