Tag: Stephen Timms

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what training on mental health awareness is provided to foster carers.

Edward Timpson

The statutory framework is clear that fostering services must provide carers with the training, information and support necessary in the interests of children placed with them.

The Training, Support and Development (TSD) Standards provide a national post-approval training framework for what foster carers should know and understand. This includes knowing what ‘healthy care’ means for the mental health of young people, and how children develop relationships. My Department’s expectation is that fostering services should ensure that foster carers complete the training within 12-18 months of approval. The TSD Standards form part of the National Minimum Standards for foster care.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authorities take Frontline participants on placement; and what plans she has to expand the number of local authorities involved in the Frontline programme.

Edward Timpson

18 local authorities in the London and Greater Manchester regions are taking Frontline participants on placement as part of the 2015 Cohort, these are as follows:

Bexley

Croydon

Ealing

Enfield

Essex

Hammersmith & Fulham

Harrow

Kensington & Chelsea

Kingston

Manchester

Merton

Richmond

Salford

Southwark

Tower Hamlets

Westminster

Wigan

Windsor & Maidenhead

Frontline will expand to the North East as part of Cohort 2016. As a result, up to 29 local authorities are expected to take Frontline participants on placement; local authorities confirmed so far include:

Bexley

Ealing

Enfield

Essex

Gateshead

Hammersmith & Fulham

Harrow

Hartlepool

Havering

Hounslow

Kensington & Chelsea

Kingston

Manchester

Merton

Newham

North Tyneside

Northumberland

Oldham

Redcar

Richmond

Rochdale

Southwark

Sunderland

Tower Hamlets

Trafford

Westminster

Wigan

Windsor & Maidenhead

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which local authorities will host Think Ahead graduate trainees on placement; and whether he has plans to expand that programme.

Alistair Burt

Arrangements are being finalised for the local authorities and National Health Service mental health trusts that will host Think Ahead participants and these partnerships will be announced in due course. Participants in Think Ahead’s first cohort are due to be based in the following regions: Yorkshire, the North East, the Midlands, London, and the South East.

The Department will make a decision on the future of the programme once an evaluation of the first cohort has been undertaken.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether jobcentre managers are permitted to set targets for jobcentre advisers on the issuing of sanctions placed on jobseekers.

Priti Patel

There are no benchmarks or targets for the number of referrals resulting in a sanction being applied.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long after being found to be ineligible for employment and support allowance as a result of a work capability assessment can an individual submit a new claim.

Priti Patel

An individual can submit a new claim for Employment and Support Allowance at any time after being found fit for work following a Work Capability Assessment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press release entitled Nicky Morgan unveils new vision for the education system, published on 17 March 2016, whether religious education will continue to be a statutory subject in state schools in England.

Nick Gibb

Religious education (RE) remains compulsory for all state funded schools, including academies and free schools, at all key stages. The Government firmly believes in the importance of RE. High quality RE can develop children’s knowledge of the values and traditions of Britain and other countries, and foster understanding among different faiths and cultures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33689, how many teachers of GCSE (a) English and (b) mathematics were employed by the armed forces in each of the last five years.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not hold figures on the number of teachers employed to teach GCSE English and Mathematics. The Ministry of Defence provides Service personnel with a range of educational, learning, development and resettlement opportunities through a number of training centres and apprenticeship programmes. The main learning centres have English and Mathematics tutors who are employed to teach functional skills in numeracy and literacy and can also support GCSEs. However, teachers are not employed specifically to teach GCSEs.

Over 95% of recruits are enrolled into an Apprenticeship Programme each year, regardless of their age, which ensures that Service personnel gain a Level 2 in numeracy and literacy. This is the equivalent of a GCSE. In addition, there are Functional Skills Deliverers who work as part of apprenticeship delivery in the training establishments and can support learning for GCSEs. However, they are more focused on providing functional skills.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what measures are in place to prevent employer’s (a) late and (b) inaccurate reporting of PAYE through real time information causing errors in the amount of universal credit received by that employer’s employees.

Priti Patel

DWP and HMRC analyse and monitor both the timeliness and accuracy of reported PAYE information. HMRC apply risk based penalties to encourage filing compliance. DWP passes queries about earnings from claimants to an HMRC team who contact employers, software developers and employer’s agents to ascertain the actual position in disputed cases and to educate them on the importance of timely and accurate data.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much UK development aid to Bangladesh has been spent on education in each year since 2000; and what information her Department holds on the proportion the total Bangladesh education budget that UK development aid represents in each of those years.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The table below shows the amount of Official Development Assistance (ODA) spent on education in Bangladesh by the United Kingdom through the government, NGOs and civil society.

UK Calendar year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
UK Spend (£millions)	0	0	7.8	7.7	17.3	28.9	19.6	8.9

UK Calendar year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
UK Spend (£millions)	22.2	34.6	33.5	50.2	26.5	34.6	33.1

2015 figures will be published later this year.

Details of the total Government of Bangladesh education budget can be found here: http://www.mof.gov.bd/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68&Itemid=1/.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK nationals have been on the staff of the European Court of Auditors in each year since 2010.

Mr David Lidington

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) does not publish figures relating to its staff numbers and nationality. According to our own internal records, the following number of UK nationals have been on the staff of the ECA since 2010:
2010: 51
2011: 50
2012: No records held
2013: 50
2014: 50
2015: 49
2016: 50