To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether further budget changes are planned for each regional development agency before its current corporate plan expires. (285337)

[holding answer 9 July 2009]: The regional development agencies (RDAs) have budget allocations for 2009-10 and indicative budgets for 2010-11. There are no plans to change RDA budgets.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of the recession on the flow of funds from regional development agencies. (285510)

[holding answer 9 July 2009]: The Department has asked the RDAs to review their spending plans on how they will use their resources to deliver their priorities in the light of changes to their budgets and the changed economic conditions. This information will be available in the RDAs (refreshed) Corporate Plans, which will be published in the summer.

On an ongoing basis, the Department monitors the agencies use of funds including actual expenditure against annual budgets.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding his Department has channelled through regional development agencies for (a) skills training and (b) careers advice in the last five years. (288232)

The information requested is as follows:

(a) The following table shows funding spent on RDA programmes where 'skills training' was the specific primary objective are as follows:

(b) RDAs have no specific remit to provide careers advice, and as such, there is no direct funding of any careers advice programmes. However, there are a number of RDA programmes such as employment brokerage to place graduates with SMEs, which may be considered to contain elements of 'careers advice' as a by-product of the programme.