Figures released in response to a written question in Parliament from Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman, Sarah Teather, show 1,420,990,957 points were unspent on 12 January. The total number that had been spent before that date is 183,432,525.
Liz Banks, education and skills adviser for the Liberal Democrats, said the figures were "shameful". "The scheme had good intentions, but obviously wasn't run very well," she said.
The Connexions Card allowed young people to earn points for taking part in education and training. Points could be exchanged for discounts on goods and services.
It was operated by outsourcing company Capita, and had been due to run until 2008, but the Government decided to close it earlier this year, claiming it had "served its purpose" (YPN, 14-20 June 2006, p2).
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