Contributions
1,529 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsThe hon. Lady seems to be blissfully unaware that we have already invested over £3 billion in supporting children to be able to catch up in our schools. As she requested, we will…30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsThere is nothing that I can really disagree with my hon. Friend about, so I had better just sit down, hadn’t I?30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsAt every stage, the Government have been one of the first to act in order to keep this country safe; this was one of the first countries in Europe to impose travel restrictions on…30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsThe hon. Lady raises a very thoughtful and important issue. I am very much with her in that I want to see the roll-out of mental health support in schools as quickly as is…30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsWe will continue to do everything that we can to ensure that children are able to benefit from a great education. That is what we have been doing. We have seen schools open up and…30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsI know my hon. Friend has done so much for education in Stoke, including his efforts to secure a new free school for the Stoke-on-Trent South constituency. He is right: we…30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsI very much want to see children spending as much time in school as possible, although I do want them to have the opportunity to go home at certain points, Mr Speaker! As part of…30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsMy hon. Friend is so right. The provisions—whether it was the roll-out of mass testing across all schools, or the restrictions and levels of safety that we had to put into…30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsWe always work with our colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England in respect of the very best forms of testing. We are always aware that…30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsI assure the House that we always do everything we can to ensure that all guidance is available to schools at the very earliest opportunity.30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsSpecific guidance is always provided for special educational needs schools. I can ensure that the detail on the gov.uk website is available to the hon. Lady so she might be able…30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsI very much want to reassure the hon. Lady that we will give all schools good notice of any new arrangements. As I have committed to, we are aiming to issue guidance and advice to…30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsI am grateful to you, Mr Speaker, for granting this urgent question. This Government are absolutely focused on returning society back to normal as soon as possible, and that…30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsI would probably count the Opposition as a rather unreliable ally, but I certainly hope that they will not do the usual flip-flop that we are accustomed to seeing from the Leader…30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsI suppose one of the great advantages of opposition is that consistency is not something that has to be adhered to. There has been an element of inconsistency there. What we are…30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsOn daily contact testing, that is something that Public Health England has been running trials on. We expect it to report back to the Department of Health and Social Care and to…30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsI am not sure whether the hon. Lady is arguing for more restrictions or fewer—her question did not seem to be that coherent. Perhaps if she can write to me to clarify whether she…30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsFrankly, if there is going to be a pilot project, it is going to be in Staffordshire, not in Gloucestershire, but that was a good old punt.30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsAt every stage, we have put in all the protective measures that are required in order to be able to keep children safe and ensure that they are back in the classroom and have the…30 Jun 2021HANSARD Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education SettingsAs part of step 3 of the road map, we lifted restrictions so that people could do overnight residential. My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight the benefits of outdoor…30 Jun 2021