News Andy Burnham MP for Leigh

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09/12/2009 - MP welcomes £1.5m for one-to-one tuition for children across Leigh

Children across the Wigan local authority area will benefit from £1,544,332 of funding for one-to-one tuition in state schools announced by the government this week.

Local MP Andy Burnham MP has welcomed the announcement of this extra funding which will help to provide 10 hours of one-to-one tuition in English and maths for children at primary school and in the early years of secondary school who are falling behind in literacy and numeracy.

Andy Burnham MP said, “Thanks to the hard work of pupils, teachers and teaching assistants, together with record investment from the government, many more children in the Leigh area are leaving primary school having mastered the 3Rs than a decade ago."

“In our area the number of children getting to the expected level at the age of 11 is up from just 67% in 1998 to 82% today in English and up from 62% to 82% in Maths."

“But we want to do more to ensure that every child makes good progress. That’s why the government is now ensuring that children who are falling behind at primary school or in the early years of secondary school get the extra help they need to catch up and get back on track."

02/12/2009 - Andy Burnham announces the Government’s acceptance of a package of recommendations from the final Social Work Task Force report

Under the package, every social worker will benefit from:

• Reforms to initial training, so all students receive good quality education and practice learning placements, equipping them for the challenges they will face when they begin to practice;

• A new ‘licensing’ system which will introduce an assessed probationary year in employment for new social work graduates, during which they will receive extra support;

• A revamped framework for continuing professional development, underpinned by a practice-based masters qualification, so all social workers can keep their skills up to date and develop specialist knowledge;

• A career structure so experienced practitioners can progress in front line roles as well as in management;

• A new standard for employers to ensure all employers put in place high quality supervision, time for continuing professional development and manageable work loads;

• Pay reform - unions will work together with employers in local government to ensure social workers receive the appropriate pay for their work and that the pay reflects their career development and progression;

• A new and independent College for Social Work led and owned by the profession, which must establish a stronger voice for social work and exercise appropriate influence over national policy making and public debate. Ministers will support it to become the first Royal College of Social Work as soon as possible;

• All this in addition to the reforms to the Integrated Children’s System the Task Force has already proposed and the Government has accepted. Over the next few months, as local authorities implement the changes they should significantly reduce the bureaucracy social workers experience on the front line.

Andu Burnham MP joined with School's Secretary Ed Balls MP in announcing that the package will also include:

• a new campaign to improve the public understanding of social work; and

• a new system to help employers better plan and forecast the demand and workload of their social workers

The 15 recommendations, which taken together mean there will be root and branch reform of the profession, were set out in the Social Work Task Force’s final report, building a safe, confident future. Chaired by Moira Gibb, the Task Force comprised academics, expert practitioners and charities and was established by the Government in December 2008

The new package follows the £58million Social Work Transformation Fund for children’s social work announced in May 2009, which included a new recruitment campaign, the first phase of which was fronted by celebrities including Goldie and Samantha Morton. This and the Children’s Workforce Development Council’s campaign has led to more than 50,000 people expressing an interest in becoming a social worker.

Over the next two years the Government is investing £109m in the social work workforce with the aim of improving outcomes for children, young people and their families.

Children’s Secretary Ed Balls said, “Nobody can underestimate the difficult but vital job that social workers across the country carry out every day, but all the evidence shows reform is needed. We have recognised that and made a good start but we need to go further and faster – because nothing is more important than protecting a child from harm."

“The comprehensive reform programme announced today is a watershed moment for social workers, that promises to transform the future of the profession. The public rightly want to know that social workers are properly trained and well supported. This is the best opportunity we have got to build a professional, well trained and respected workforce and everyone including social workers should work together on this.

“There is no ‘quick fix’, but over the last year there has been a lot of constructive debate about the training, support and supervision that social workers need and I am confident these proposals, based on the firm evidence from the Task Force, will really strengthen the profession.”

Andy Burnham MP said, “Social workers contribute enormously to the lives of individuals and society as a whole – our own families might need their help in the future."

"Good social workers make a significant difference to the lives of older people and adults who find themselves in vulnerable circumstances by delivering personalised services."

“Through this package of measures people who train and work as social workers will be given the best possible support through out their career.”

A Social Work Reform Board will be set up to take forward today’s recommendations and to work alongside the Government in delivering change to the profession. Moira Gibb, chair of the Social Work Taskforce, has accepted the role of chair on the Reform Board.

In early 2010, the Government will set out an implementation plan for the social work reform programme, to be overseen by the Reform Board, working in partnership with the profession. This will include setting out how reform will be resourced and changes to legislation that will be needed.

25/11/2009 - A new law that will help to protect children and young people from the harms of tobacco receives Royal Assent.

Provisions in the new Health Act 2009 mean that shops will no longer be allowed to display tobacco products, and enable the prohibition of sales of tobacco from vending machines.

The Act also places a legal duty on the NHS and its providers to have regard to the NHS Constitution, which will safeguard the principles and values of the NHS for the future, and sets out the rights and responsibilities of patients and staff.

The Act will also enable the piloting of direct payments for healthcare, giving patients more choice and greater control over the care they receive, and improving the quality of health services.

The nuts and bolts of how the Government’s proposed new tobacco control laws will work in practice are now out for consultation. The Government is calling for views about key elements of the laws to make sure they are practical and affordable while still achieving the Government’s public health policy on combating smoking.

The consultation gives people the opportunity to comment on the details of the proposed regulations. It asks for feedback on how proposals will work in practice, such as:

• Keeping tobacco out of sight in shops but ensuring that shopkeepers are still able to serve their customers and are able to restock their shelves without breaking the new law.
• Displaying price lists so that shopkeepers can continue to trade efficiently - but making sure the lists don’t use branding or colours in ways that promote the products.

Health Secretary and Leigh MP Andy Burnham said, “Smoking continues to have a heavy impact on the health of our communities. Today’s children could be tomorrow’s smokers - these new plans will help to ensure they are not. Protecting young people from a lifetime of addiction and possible death and disease from smoking is crucial, as is supporting smokers who want to quit."

“The tobacco industry constantly recruits young people to replace those who give up smoking or die each year and the Government has a responsibility to find tobacco control policies that stop this from happening. The new laws passed banning the sale of cigarettes from vending machines, championed by Ian McCartney MP, will assist in this fight.”

The Consultation on proposed tobacco control regulations for England (under the Health Bill 2009) was published on 12 October 2009 and can be found at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_106454