Contributions
1,529 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryWhile we are not in a position to be able to provide independent schools with funding to roll out testing, we are providing them with facilities, testing equipment and all the…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryI thank the hon. Lady for her comments and for recognising that we are in a rapidly changing situation. We sometimes have to adapt our responses as a result of the changing…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryI join my right hon. Friend in thanking the teachers and support staff who have done so much in his constituency of Harlow to keep children learning. The importance of school is…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryMy hon. Friend so often has brilliant ideas, and I would be very happy to sit down with him to look at how we could do that. The Minister for School Standards is one of the…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryI thank the hon. Lady for echoing my words and my thanks to all teachers, leaders and all those who work in our schools, colleges and childcare settings for the wonderful work…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryI join my hon. Friend in his thanks. I know that he served in the Royal Air Force for a number of years, so he has a particular fondness for our armed forces, as we all do. They…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryMy hon. Friend will be aware that I want to see all children in schools at all times, if possible. As he highlights, however, there will be certain areas of the country where…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryI can absolutely confirm to my hon. Friend that testing will be available both to students and to staff members in secondary school settings. Importantly, that means that we will…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryThe hon. Gentleman is right to highlight the issue of those children taking BTEC qualifications, and we have made the decision about the importance of those youngsters being able…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryI will certainly happily provide the latest information on the distribution of laptops in the hon. Member’s constituency. The reason we announced the uplift to the distribution of…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryI will certainly ensure that advice on where schools can get that information is passed on to the right hon. Lady. It was published and made available to colleges and schools…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryWe had announced the additional £78 million of funding just before the Christmas period to assist in the roll-out of a mass testing regime in all secondary schools. We announced…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryI would certainly urge the Department of Health and Social Care to prioritise vaccination of those who work in schools. All the vaccines currently available have not had or have…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryThe right hon. Gentleman raises an important point about how vital it is to work with local directors of public health and local authorities. We believe that this will be of…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryI thank the hon. Lady for her question, and I can absolutely assure her that the roll-out of mass testing in secondary schools is properly supported. Schools will be getting the…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryMy hon. Friend is right to ask that question, and there will be a review after the two-week period. The hope and desire is that areas in the contingency framework will be moving…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryI often agree with my hon. Friend, and I do not disagree with him on this occasion. Obviously, we have to prioritise decisions on vaccinations, taking into account a whole raft of…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryAs my hon. Friend will recognise, at every stage the safety of pupils and those who work in schools is at the very heart of every decision we make. We all recognise the impact of…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryWe all recognise that this has been an incredibly challenging year for all students. We have seen the impact on our own children and, of course, on children in our constituencies.…30 Dec 2020HANSARD Education: Return in JanuaryI certainly hope that it does give people confidence to know that primary schools in my right hon. Friend’s constituency of Romsey will be opening on Monday, that exam year groups…30 Dec 2020