Weinstock blasts Milburn over Connexions slur
Ravi Chandiramani
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The head of the government's Youth Taskforce, Anne Weinstock, has accused former Cabinet minister Alan Milburn of "a complete lack of understanding" in his criticisms of Connexions.
Milburn called for careers advice to be switched from Connexions toschools and colleges in an independent report on social mobility,Unleashing Aspiration, submitted to government this summer. The reportstated: "We have barely heard a good word about the careers work of theConnexions service."
But in an interview with CYP Now to be published later this month,Weinstock said his report "showed a complete lack of understanding ofwhere the agenda is". She said: "We have an integrated youth supportservice. A lot of Connexions personal advisers work in schools already'spotting problems early."
She said Milburn's proposal to hive off careers advice to schools andleave Connexions to focus on young people not in education, employmentor training "misses the point". She added: "I thought the rich irony inhis report was the acknowledgement that quite recently Ofsted hasinspected information, advice and guidance (IAG) in 16 areas and in 14they were satisfactory or better."
Weinstock, who retires from the civil service at the end of 2009, wasConnexions' first national chief executive from 2000. Youth advisers arestill awaiting the government's delayed IAG strategy.
