Oral Answers to Questions

Greg Smith Excerpts

Monday 31st January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michelle Donelan]

It is a shame the Opposition did not read our announcement the other week. In fact, we have not based it on salaries; we have based it on graduate outcomes, so there is a range of jobs that people can progress into.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

5. What steps his Department is taking to protect freedom of speech on university campuses.

[Mark Logan (Bolton North East) (Con)]

15. What steps his Department is taking to protect freedom of speech on university campuses.

[The Minister for Higher and Further Education (Michelle Donelan)]

Freedom of speech is a fundamental principle of higher education and this Government will not allow the continued self-censorship of individuals facing negative repercussions for lawfully expressed views, which is why our Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill will strengthen existing freedom of speech duties.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

The University of Buckingham in my constituency has twice topped the charts for the university with the least restrictions on free speech, and under the outstanding leadership of its vice-chancellor, Professor James Tooley, proposals have been drawn up calling for new laws to ensure that academics can sue an institution or use the complaints scheme if it fails to protect them from targeted campaigns of harassment related to their academic freedom. Will my right hon. Friend the Minister work with the University of Buckingham to make that new protection a reality?

[Michelle Donelan]

I welcome the University of Buckingham continuing to champion free speech. Our Bill contains exactly those sorts of measure to further strengthen protection for individuals who are being harassed for expressing their lawful views, and I am sure my hon. Friend will support it when it returns to this House.

Education: Return in January

Greg Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 5th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Nadhim Zahawi]

I am grateful for the hon. Lady’s important and thoughtful question. We are doing several things. As I have made clear, we are going back to examination. Exams will take place this month—some of the vocational examinations that are coming through—and then in the summer. I spoke about our work with the regulator, Ofqual, on recognising the disruption to students’ learning because of the covid pandemic. Through Ofqual, we will also share advance information with teachers and schools so that we, again, recognise the challenges around exams this summer for students. As I mentioned, we will go back in two steps to pre-covid grading, recognising the challenge that students have faced.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

It is vital that schools remain open and I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s clear determination to keep them open. I share, however, the concerns of other hon. Members who have spoken about the mask mandate, which I believe will cause harm to all children in terms of concentration, their educational development and social interactions. There are some for whom that impact will be even more severe. A teacher in my constituency wrote to me earlier today to say that three of the pupils he teaches are partially deaf and depend entirely on lip-reading. He tells me:

“Their experience over the next few weeks will be awful as they are denied normal interactions”.

What can my right hon. Friend say to those children to ensure that they will not be left behind?

[Nadhim Zahawi]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising an important point. I remind the House that when teachers are standing at the front of their classroom, they are not required to wear masks, and those students who are deaf and rely on lip reading will obviously continue to be able to learn. Nevertheless, it is an important point that a number of children will be unable to wear masks, whether because of a disability or otherwise, which is why it is guidance and at the discretion of teachers and school leaders. We trust teachers to do the right thing on this.

Awarding Qualifications in 2021 and 2022

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 22nd July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Nick Gibb]

There is a clear plan that exams will go ahead next year. A large proportion of the pupils who are not in school at the moment are out as a consequence of self-isolating because they have been a close contact of somebody who has tested positive for covid. From 16 August, anybody under the age of 18 will not have to self-isolate as a consequence of coming into such contact. They will be asked to take a PCR test, and when students start school in September they will be asked to take two lateral flow device tests on school premises in that first week of term.

We are determined to do all we can to identify asymptomatic cases of covid, and all the measures in schools—including ventilation and hygiene—will remain in place despite the move to step 4 to ensure that we minimise any risk of transmission of the virus on school premises. As I mentioned in my opening statement, we are also working on contingency plans should it be necessary to cancel exams next year because of the direction of the pandemic. Our very firm plans are to proceed with exams, because they are the fairest way of assessing young people.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

I very much welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. Does he agree that exams are the fairest way not only to assess the pupils’ ability in their subjects but to give them certainty about how they will be assessed? The rigour of the tried and tested exam system will help avoid the sad cases of anxiety and mental health challenges that far too many of our young people have suffered given the disruption of the pandemic.

[Nick Gibb]

My hon. Friend is right. When we considered the raft of options, we took that into account. Some adaptations may appear on the surface to be fair, but because they are so different from what has happened in the past teachers are not used to teaching to that approach and students are not used to taking exams with it.

Covid-19: Education Settings

Greg Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 6th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

I am sure that Grasmere nursery is reflective of the many nurseries right across the country that had the benefit of being funded at pre-covid levels. We carried on that level of funding in recognition of the fact that they were operating in truly exceptional times.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement and the step back to normality and letting children be children that the scrapping of the bubbles system brings, but there continues to be an anxiety that affects people on both sides of the debate, which is whether the vaccination programme will be extended to those under 18 years of age. Will my right hon. Friend redouble his efforts to work with colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care to push the JCVI to come forward with its recommendations so that, one way or the other, a decision can be made that takes that additional anxiety away from young people?

[Gavin Williamson]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight the importance of ensuring that we have the correct and best information to inform decisions on the vaccination of children. It is my hope that the JCVI report will be imminently forthcoming, and that will obviously inform the decisions that the Government make in the best interests of all our children.

Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education Settings

Greg Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 30th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

It is fair to say that Liberal Democrats have never been very good at numbers. Actually, schools are open right across the country—they are welcoming children. Millions of children are in school, benefiting from being with their teachers, and we continue to take action to ensure we do everything we can to maximise the number of children there. As part of step 4, as I touched on earlier, we will be looking at lifting more restrictions; that will be announced in the near future.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

I very much welcome my right hon. Friend’s work to keep schools open and his ambition to see the end of the bubble system, but may I ask him to look at a cohort of children who risk being caught up negatively by covid guidance and restrictions: those who are due to start primary school this September? I declare an interest in that my own son is due to start school this September. Under the current guidance, schools are unable to run the settling-in sessions that are essential for children to familiarise themselves with their new environment and have the best start in school life. Will my right hon. Friend take action to ensure that those settling-in sessions can happen?

[Gavin Williamson]

I will share some of the guidance that we have. There is flexibility for schools, for those key transition years, to have some level of familiarisation with those children. I will organise it that my office shares that information with my hon. Friend.

Support for University Students: Covid-19

Greg Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Michelle Donelan]

The funding we have announced is for three months only—that is, £70 million spread over three months. It is my understanding that it is not the same case in Wales. That is in addition to the £256 million that we unlocked, and also on top of that is the money that universities themselves have allocated.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

I also welcome the additional funds that were announced yesterday, which will undoubtedly go a long way to helping those in the greatest financial need. But I have heard from many of my constituents who are students at institutions across the country about their continuing to be burdened with the high cost of accommodation, while it is the state that demands they stay at their parental home. Does my hon. Friend agree with me that this is fundamentally a question of fairness? What more can she do to fix that imbalance both for students and for institutions and landlords, as this is not their fault either?

[Michelle Donelan]

We continue to monitor the situation to see how long this will last and the impact the money we have allocated is having on students. Our priority was to put money into the pockets of those most in need and those who have been impacted the most by this pandemic, but I am more than happy to continue talking to my hon. Friend and any other colleague on this very subject.

Covid-19: Educational Settings

Greg Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 6th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

I always enjoyed working with the hon. Member, in terms of the work we did with the Motor Neurone Disease Association over a number of years. He often speaks a lot of good sense—just, sadly, in the wrong party. I can confirm that we will not be proceeding with SATs this year. We recognise that that would be an additional burden on schools, and it is very important that we are focused on welcoming students back into the classroom at the earliest opportunity.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

I commend my right hon. Friend for the work being done to roll out online learning, but for a significant proportion of my constituents there is a small practical problem: up to 13% of households either have very slow broadband or no access to it at all, and mobile data is non-existent in many villages. What practical support can he offer pupils living in such households, competing against other members of the household and trying to work or learn with no or little broadband?

[Gavin Williamson]

This is an incredibly challenging problem for many people living in rural communities. I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss what further measures we could take. I am beginning to think about some of the additional resource of textbooks and other resources that can maybe be made available to families and communities that have these acute problems, where it may not be something we can work around in terms of a technical solution. There may be other routes forward, but I will ask my Department to organise swiftly a meeting between him and me to discuss this issue and any other educational issues in his constituency.

Exams and Accountability 2021

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 3rd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

It is very nice to see the hon. Lady again. The reason for this focus and the advance notice for schools is so that, where there has been missed time, they are able to be in a position to focus on the areas that matter. I appreciate that she would want everything yesterday, as against in January, but the work will take a little bit of time for exam boards to pull together. It will be done swiftly—by the end of January—to give schools as much space as possible to focus their attention on those areas.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

The stress and anxiety that has been faced by so many pupils, staff and parents due to covid restrictions cannot be denied, so I very much welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement today. It is the right thing to do. Can he give me an assurance that his Department will also do everything possible to ensure that this message goes out loud and clear to anyone who might seek to stigmatise the class of 2021 as having had some sort of easy pass, rather than these measures’ being rightly about fairness in the face of exceptional circumstances?

[Gavin Williamson]

My hon. Friend is absolutely spot on. The children who are facing exams this year have done so much, in quite extraordinary circumstances. The grades they will receive will be a real testament to their hard work, their dedication and their commitment to education, either in the 11 years in the run-up to their GCSEs or in the 13 years in the run-up to their A-levels and other vocational qualifications. I hope that employers in the future will recognise the amazing work that has gone into every single grade and every single achievement of all our children.

Oral Answers to Questions

Greg Smith Excerpts

Monday 22nd June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Vicky Ford]

I thank the NSPCC and Barnardo’s for the work that they are doing with the Government to help to keep children safe online, but also in the home and outside the home. We are committed to introducing a duty of care on social media companies. We published the initial response to the consultation in February and a full response will be published later this year. We are working with the sector on a detailed code of conduct. But the first thing we must do to keep children safe is to get them back in school, and I would like the hon. Lady to support us in doing that.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to encourage international students to study in the UK.

[The Minister for Universities (Michelle Donelan)]

This month I appointed the UK’s first international education champion. Together we are working to provide reassurance that our internationally renowned, world-leading universities will be open, flexible and welcoming. We are also communicating the fact that we recently strengthened the UK’s offer by announcing the new graduate route.

[Greg Smith]

International students are extremely important to the University of Buckingham, making up over 40% of all students there. Will my hon. Friend work closely with the University of Buckingham and look at all possible measures to ensure that international students can fully participate as soon as possible in the first-class education the university has to offer?

Oral Answers to Questions

Greg Smith Excerpts

Monday 2nd March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Michelle Donelan]

I am sorry that the hon. Member does not seem to have listened because we are going to try to participate in Erasmus, and nobody has talked today about cutting off our ability to do so.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

8. What steps the Government are taking to improve children’s social care.

[The Secretary of State for Education (Gavin Williamson)]

We are working to make sure that more local authorities are rated as outstanding, with fewer failing, and we are also strengthening the social work profession. As was set out in our manifesto, we will undertake a bold, independent review of our children’s social care system so that we can go even further to provide children with the support that they need.

[Greg Smith]

In Buckinghamshire, our hard-working social workers travel around 1 million miles a year to undertake statutory visits and court attendances. That is considerably more than occurs in urban environments, especially as the family court is now out of area. What further steps can my right hon. Friend take to ensure that children’s social services are fully supported in rural communities?

[Gavin Williamson]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. That is why we have committed to putting an extra £1 billion into children and adults’ social care. I would be happy to speak to him about what more we can do to support rural counties and the delivery of these vital services.