To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what extra help rural areas will receive through the New Deal for 18 to 24 year olds, with regard to the problem of transport in rural areas; and if he will make a statement. [34420]

In planning the delivery of New Deal all local partnerships have fully taken into account a wide range of local factors, including the availability of transport. Innovative local solutions are being developed by partnerships, including a number which have secured concessionary fares for New Deal participants. In addition, the Rural Development Commission (the Government's agency for economic and social development in rural England) has allocated £200k of its funds, to support projects that will test solutions to the problems of delivering New Deal to remote rural communities where public transport is scarce.