To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government is taking to improve understanding of financial matters amongst teenage mothers and young people in the (a) North East, (b) Tees Valley district and (c) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency. (249651)

Young people should have a planned and coherent programme of personal finance education, so that they leave school with the skills and confidence to manage their money effectively. This is being provided through the new ‘economic well-being and financial capability’ strand of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, which was introduced into all secondary schools in September 2008. In addition, there are opportunities within a number of subjects across the curriculum to learn about financial matters, including citizenship, mathematics, business studies and enterprise education.

We are also funding the My Money Programme, which has an established network of support for local authorities through regional consultants—including the north east—who are building capacity among local authorities to support schools in delivering personal finance education.

Positive parenting education is available to teenage mothers and pregnant teenagers in the north east region as part of local provision to engage them in learning. This would generally include financial education covering issues such as managing money on a budget and avoiding debt.