Tag: Justin Tomlinson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage the recruitment of graduates into the social work sector.

Edward Timpson

Social workers perform some of the hardest roles in society and that is why it is already a graduate profession. Government is continuing to invest in social work education and training, including through the highly successful Step Up to Social Work and Frontline programmes, both of which aim to bring high calibre graduates into child and family social work, and Think Ahead, which offers a new route for graduates and career-changers into adult mental health social work.

Improving the quality and status of child and family ‎social work is a high priority. Higher standards, including through the introduction of a national system of assessment and accreditation will help provide greater assurance that social workers have the necessary knowledge and skills for the demanding work they do. The Government does not, however, have any specific plans to increase public awareness of the role of social workers.

Government does not collect data on the number of cases held by social workers on a weekly basis. The department expects to publish caseload information, for the first time, relating to the year ending 30 September 2016, in February 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy that consumers who wish to switch energy providers only have to make contact with the new provider.

Jesse Norman

The process for switching supplier is set out in industry codes, in the formulation of which the Government has no role. The Energy Switching Guarantee was launched in June this year and can be reached via https://www.energyswitchguarantee.com/. This makes switching energy supplier easier for consumers and guarantees that it will be done within 21 days. The guarantee also ensures that the new supplier will handle the whole transfer process for the consumer.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-07-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the benefits to the UK economy of video games tax relief.

Jane Ellison

The creative industries make a valuable cultural contribution to the UK, they are also an important part of a dynamic and diversified economy.

In its first two years the video games tax relief aided the production of 135 games, supporting £417 million of production spending in this country.

The latest statistics on all of the creative sector tax reliefs can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/creative-industries-statistics-july-2016

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the value of the video games industry to the UK economy.

Matt Hancock

Latest estimates from the DCMS Creative Industries Economic Estimates (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/creative-industries-economic-estimates-january-2016 ) show that Gross Value Added for the computer games industry in the UK was £426m in 2014.

Research by Nesta and trade association Ukie (http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/map-uk-games-industry ) seeks to include the contribution of micro-businesses together with official statistics and this suggested that the contribution of video games could be substantially higher. We look forward to seeing the next iteration of this research which is due to be revealed this month and aims to further reflect the fast growing nature of the UK’s digital businesses.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase public awareness of the role of social workers.

Edward Timpson

Social workers perform some of the hardest roles in society and that is why it is already a graduate profession. Government is continuing to invest in social work education and training, including through the highly successful Step Up to Social Work and Frontline programmes, both of which aim to bring high calibre graduates into child and family social work, and Think Ahead, which offers a new route for graduates and career-changers into adult mental health social work.

Improving the quality and status of child and family ‎social work is a high priority. Higher standards, including through the introduction of a national system of assessment and accreditation will help provide greater assurance that social workers have the necessary knowledge and skills for the demanding work they do. The Government does not, however, have any specific plans to increase public awareness of the role of social workers.

Government does not collect data on the number of cases held by social workers on a weekly basis. The department expects to publish caseload information, for the first time, relating to the year ending 30 September 2016, in February 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the link between a family and their social worker in the event of a failed submission for a Care Protection Order.

Edward Timpson

No assessment of the effectiveness of the link between a family and their social worker in the event of a failed application for a Care Order has been made by my Department. It would be for the local authority to determine what action to take following a failed application for a Care Order, including whether or not a change of social worker is necessary and whether the child remained at risk of harm and/or the family needed support.

In these circumstances, a further assessment of need should be undertaken by a social worker to decide whether the child and/or their family should receive services as a child in need, or if a child protection plan is needed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage professionals from the private sector to train as teachers.

Nick Gibb

Professionals are an important source of new teachers and bring relevant knowledge and skills from their previous employment. In 2015/16, 45% of new entrants to initial teacher training (ITT) courses were aged 25 or over. To attract more potential career changers, our marketing campaign, Your Future | Their Future, uses a range of media including television advertising, national newspaper advertising and targeted digital and print communications.

We provide support specifically for career changers to make the transition to teaching, especially in the subjects where they are needed most, including:

• The School Direct (salaried) route which is specifically targeted at career changers with three years’ work experience and allows them to earn a salary whilst they train to teach. We provide grant funding to schools to subsidise the costs of salary and training for trainees on this route.

• Our new flexible routes pilot from September 2016, which will allow career changers to train as maths and physics teachers. The pilot, which is delivered by 18 School Direct lead schools, will test whether schools can attract more career changers by offering flexible training routes which meet the needs of different individuals.

In addition, career changers can access extensive support that is available for all ITT candidates. This includes bursaries or scholarships of up to £30,000 tax-free; advice and guidance from the expert advisers on the Get Into Teaching Line; help with arranging school experience to assist with their ITT application; and access to our free Train to Teach events.

Those who wish to teach secondary biology, geography, mathematics, physics, chemistry, languages or computing are also eligible for our enhanced Premier Plus service. This includes tailored advice from a dedicated adviser, including the practicalities that often affect career changers, such as childcare funding. Applicants who wish to teach these subjects can also access funded Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) courses, through which they can boost or refresh their subject knowledge.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential economic benefit to the UK of hosting the World Athletics Championship and the IPC World Championships in 2017.

Tracey Crouch

The potential economic benefit of hosting the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships and the IPC World Championships in London is currently expected to be in excess of £100m. This will build on the significant positive economic impact of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to contact visa and naturalisation applicants to ask those applicants to submit an up-to-date English Language Certificate if an application is to be refused solely on the grounds of the submission of an expired certificate.

Mr Robert Goodwill

For visa purposes, it is not Home Office policy to give an applicant the opportunity to submit a further document if they have provided an out of date English language certificate. Knowledge of the English language is a key requirement of the Immigration Rules which applicants are expected to comply with before they apply. The Immigration Rules specify that, where applicable, the test certificate must be within its validity date.

For naturalisation applications, a person is allowed a period of two weeks to provide any missing information, but they would be expected to have met the language requirement before submitting an application.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Frontline and Think Ahead social work programmes.

Edward Timpson

The Government remains committed to providing appropriate levels of funding to a range of entry routes to social work.

An independent evaluation of the Frontline programme was published in March 2016, and is accessible online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509240/DFE-RR507-Frontline-pilot-independent-evaluation.pdf

The first cohort of Think Ahead participants started the programme in summer 2016. Plans are being made to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme.

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