Ian Mearns

The Government has recently consulted on proposals to increase the eligibility criteria for Debt Relief Orders to help more people deal with their financial difficulties and to provide a fresh start. The consultation includes increasing the total amount of debt allowable in a Debt Relief Order. The consultation proposes an increase from the current debt limit of £20,000 to £30,000 but also seeks views on whether a different limit should be implemented. The consultation closed on 26 February 2021 and the Government is currently reviewing the responses.

The Government is eager to deliver supply chain investment and jobs from CfD contracts. We have confirmed our intention to align the Supply Chain Plan process with government priorities, and we are currently consulting^[1] on proposals to introduce consequences for non-delivery of commitments that developers put forward in their Supply Chain Plans, which are approved before they enter the CfD Allocation Round. We are also strengthening the Supply Chain Plan monitoring process to support compliance.

These measures should be seen alongside my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s announcement on £160 million of new funding towards investment to upgrade ports and infrastructure and long-term ambitions to increase renewable energy capacity in the next CfD auction, which, together, will support new UK content, jobs and investment.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/contracts-for-difference-cfd-changes-to-supply-chain-plans-and-the-cfd-contract - Closing date 18th January 2021.

The Government is eager to deliver supply chain investment from CfD contracts. We have confirmed our intention to align the Supply Chain Plan process with government priorities, and we are currently consulting[1] on proposals to introduce consequences for non-delivery of commitments that developers put forward in their Supply Chain Plans, which are approved before they enter the CfD Allocation Round. We are also strengthening the Supply Chain Plan monitoring process to support compliance.

These measures should be seen alongside my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s announcement on £160 million of new funding towards investment to upgrade ports and infrastructure and long-term ambitions to increase renewable energy capacity in the next CfD auction, which, together, will support new UK content, jobs and investment.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/contracts-for-difference-cfd-changes-to-supply-chain-plans-and-the-cfd-contract - Closing date 18th January 2021.

I regularly meet my colleagues in the Department for Transport to discuss a wide range of issues, including on how we deliver the aims of the Industrial Strategy.

The Crown Estate is an independent commercial business, created by Act of Parliament, and the Department does not have powers to review their licensing process. However, Ministers and officials of the Department work closely with the Crown Estate to ensure that offshore wind leasing process are consistent with the Government’s renewable ambitions to achieve net zero by 2050 while boosting the UK economy.

The Government is currently consulting on proposals to strengthen Contracts for Difference (CfD) Supply Chain Plans, to align them more closely with government priorities. We propose to introduce consequences for non-delivery of commitments that developers put forward in their Supply Chain Plans and strengthen the monitoring process to support compliance.

These measures should be seen alongside my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s recent announcement on £160 million of new funding towards investment to upgrade ports and infrastructure to ensure UK ports have the necessary facilities and capabilities to meet the future needs of offshore wind developers. Together with other commitments on offshore wind, this will enable the sector to support up to 60,000 jobs directly and indirectly by 2030 in ports, factories and the supply chains.

The Government is currently consulting on proposals to strengthen Contracts for Difference (CfD) Supply Chain Plans, to align them more closely with government priorities. We propose to introduce consequences for non-delivery of commitments that developers put forward in their Supply Chain Plans and strengthen the monitoring process to support compliance.

These measures should be seen alongside my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s recent announcement on £160 million of new funding towards investment to upgrade ports and infrastructure to ensure UK ports have the necessary facilities and capabilities to meet the future needs of offshore wind developers and remain competitive.

The Offshore Wind Industry committed to updating its UK content methodology and a longer-term move towards increased transparency as part of the Offshore Wind Sector Deal. The industry has committed to reviewing the methodology and they will publish this once agreed.

The methodology applies to every developer, who are obliged to seek UK content data from their suppliers, using the same methodology, for all contracts above £10m.

Any employee who is dismissed due to redundancy and who satisfies certain qualifying conditions has a statutory entitlement to a lump sum from their employer, based on their age, length of service and contractual weekly earnings, subject to a statutory upper limit, payable at, or soon after, the dismissal date.

The statutory redundancy scheme is intended to provide a minimum “safety net” of entitlement for vulnerable employees, and the legislation leaves the parties free to negotiate and agree improvements on the statutory entitlement according to their own priorities, needs and circumstances.

We introduced new legislation which commenced on 31 July to ensure that furloughed employees who are subsequently made redundant receive statutory redundancy pay, statutory notice pay, unfair dismissal compensation and pay for short-time working based on the employee’s normal pay, rather than their furlough pay (potentially 80% of their normal wage). The Government has always urged employers to do the right thing and not seek to disadvantage furloughed employees who are facing redundancy.

The Department asked the Law Commission to examine the protection given to consumer prepayments, including gift vouchers, and consider whether such protections should be strengthened. The Law Commission concluded that gift voucher losses were relatively uncommon, and mandatory regulation on gift vouchers in an insolvency context would be disproportionate. Costs arising to businesses from regulation could also be passed on to consumers.

The Government has worked with the industry and consumer groups to publish better guidance for insolvency practitioners on the information that should be made available to consumers when a retailer becomes insolvent.

The Department continues to work closely with other Government Departments throughout its response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care, as well as stakeholders across the sector. We continue to work to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, to develop comprehensive guidance based on the PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’, and to understand the impact and effectiveness of these measures on staff, pupils, and parents.

On 22 February, the Department published its evidence summary, ‘COVID-19 - children, young people and education settings’, which includes a section on face coverings. It can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/963639/DfE_Evidence_summary_COVID-19_-_children__young_people_and_education_settings.pdf.

The Department has also recently published updated guidance for schools to support the return to full attendance from 8 March, which includes updated advice on face coverings. The guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/964351/Schools_coronavirus_operational_guidance.pdf.

As the guidance outlines, where pupils and students in Year 7 and above are educated, the Department recommends that face coverings should be worn by adults, pupils, and students when moving around the premises, outside of classrooms, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing cannot easily be maintained.

In addition, from 8 March the Department now recommends that in schools where pupils and students in Year 7 and above are educated, face coverings should be worn in classrooms unless social distancing can be maintained.

The same legal exemptions that apply to the wearing of face coverings in shops and on public transport also apply in nurseries, schools, and colleges. This includes people who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness, impairment, or disability, or if you are speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expressions to communicate. The Department expects teachers and other staff to be sensitive to those needs.

Transparent face coverings, which may assist communication with someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expression to communicate, can also be worn. There is currently very limited evidence regarding the effectiveness or safety of transparent face coverings, but they may be effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19.

The Department is recommending these additional precautionary measures for a for a time limited period until Easter. As with all measures, we will keep this under review and update guidance as necessary.

The Department continues to work closely with other Government Departments throughout its response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care, as well as stakeholders across the sector. We continue to work to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, to develop comprehensive guidance based on the PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’, and to understand the impact and effectiveness of these measures on staff, pupils, and parents.

On 22 February, the Department published its evidence summary, ‘COVID-19 - children, young people and education settings’, which includes a section on face coverings. It can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/963639/DfE_Evidence_summary_COVID-19_-_children__young_people_and_education_settings.pdf.

The Department has also recently published updated guidance for schools to support the return to full attendance from 8 March, which includes updated advice on face coverings. The guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/964351/Schools_coronavirus_operational_guidance.pdf.

As the guidance outlines, where pupils and students in Year 7 and above are educated, the Department recommends that face coverings should be worn by adults, pupils, and students when moving around the premises, outside of classrooms, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing cannot easily be maintained.

In addition, from 8 March the Department now recommends that in schools where pupils and students in Year 7 and above are educated, face coverings should be worn in classrooms unless social distancing can be maintained.

The same legal exemptions that apply to the wearing of face coverings in shops and on public transport also apply in nurseries, schools, and colleges. This includes people who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness, impairment, or disability, or if you are speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expressions to communicate. The Department expects teachers and other staff to be sensitive to those needs.

Transparent face coverings, which may assist communication with someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expression to communicate, can also be worn. There is currently very limited evidence regarding the effectiveness or safety of transparent face coverings, but they may be effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19.

The Department is recommending these additional precautionary measures for a for a time limited period until Easter. As with all measures, we will keep this under review and update guidance as necessary.

The Department continues to work closely with other Government Departments throughout its response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care, as well as stakeholders across the sector. We continue to work to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, to develop comprehensive guidance based on the PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’, and to understand the impact and effectiveness of these measures on staff, pupils, and parents.

On 22 February, the Department published its evidence summary, ‘COVID-19 - children, young people and education settings’, which includes a section on face coverings. It can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/963639/DfE_Evidence_summary_COVID-19_-_children__young_people_and_education_settings.pdf.

The Department has also recently published updated guidance for schools to support the return to full attendance from 8 March, which includes updated advice on face coverings. The guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/964351/Schools_coronavirus_operational_guidance.pdf.

As the guidance outlines, where pupils and students in Year 7 and above are educated, the Department recommends that face coverings should be worn by adults, pupils, and students when moving around the premises, outside of classrooms, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing cannot easily be maintained.

In addition, from 8 March the Department now recommends that in schools where pupils and students in Year 7 and above are educated, face coverings should be worn in classrooms unless social distancing can be maintained.

The same legal exemptions that apply to the wearing of face coverings in shops and on public transport also apply in nurseries, schools, and colleges. This includes people who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness, impairment, or disability, or if you are speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expressions to communicate. The Department expects teachers and other staff to be sensitive to those needs.

Transparent face coverings, which may assist communication with someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expression to communicate, can also be worn. There is currently very limited evidence regarding the effectiveness or safety of transparent face coverings, but they may be effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19.

The Department is recommending these additional precautionary measures for a for a time limited period until Easter. As with all measures, we will keep this under review and update guidance as necessary.

Guidance was published in July 2020 on selection testing for entry for September 2021. The Department updated it to offer amended advice on late and in-year testing on 23 February 2021. We will keep the need for further guidance for this year and for entry in September 2022 under review as we receive further scientific advice on the COVID-19 outbreak. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-assessment-processes-for-selective-school-admissions.

Selection tests are part of the admission arrangements of individual grammar schools. They are administered locally, and the Department does not routinely collect information on individual test results or those entering tests. We do not intend to undertake such a data collection exercise at this time. Data is available, within the National Pupil Database, on the number of disadvantaged children on roll within grammar schools.

Guidance was published in July 2020 on selection testing for entry for September 2021. The Department updated it to offer amended advice on late and in-year testing on 23 February 2021. We will keep the need for further guidance for this year and for entry in September 2022 under review as we receive further scientific advice on the COVID-19 outbreak. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-assessment-processes-for-selective-school-admissions.

Selection tests are part of the admission arrangements of individual grammar schools. They are administered locally, and the Department does not routinely collect information on individual test results or those entering tests. We do not intend to undertake such a data collection exercise at this time. Data is available, within the National Pupil Database, on the number of disadvantaged children on roll within grammar schools.

Guidance was published in July 2020 on selection testing for entry for September 2021. The Department updated it to offer amended advice on late and in-year testing on 23 February 2021. We will keep the need for further guidance for this year and for entry in September 2022 under review as we receive further scientific advice on the COVID-19 outbreak. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-assessment-processes-for-selective-school-admissions.

Selection tests are part of the admission arrangements of individual grammar schools. They are administered locally, and the Department does not routinely collect information on individual test results or those entering tests. We do not intend to undertake such a data collection exercise at this time. Data is available, within the National Pupil Database, on the number of disadvantaged children on roll within grammar schools.

We know that receiving face-to-face education is best for children’s mental health and educational achievement. We have resisted restrictions on attendance at schools since the first lockdown, but in the face of the rapidly rising numbers of cases across the country and intense pressure on the NHS we needed to use every lever at our disposal to reduce all our social contacts wherever possible.

Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, we have expected schools to remain open for vulnerable children and the children of critical workers, whilst limiting attendance for the majority of children to help slow the spread of the virus. Schools have also been offering wraparound provision, such as breakfast and afterschool clubs, for those children eligible to attend. The system of controls set out in our guidance provides a set of principles for infection control. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak. We expect schools to follow this advice and maximise the use of these control measures, so that they will effectively minimise risks of viral transmission.

Where it is needed, schools are expected to offer pupils in Key Stage 2 a minimum of 4 hours of remote education that includes either recorded or live direct teaching alongside time for pupils to work independently to complete assignments that have been set.

There is a wide range of resources available to support schools to meet the expectations we have set. The Get Help with Remote Education page on gov.uk provides a one-stop-shop for teachers, signposting the support package available: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-remote-education. This includes helping schools to access technology that supports remote education, as well as peer-to-peer training and guidance on how to use technology effectively. We have also updated the remote education guidance to clarify and strengthen expectations in cases where on-site attendance is restricted: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/remote-education-good-practice/remote-education-good-practice.

To make up for lost teaching time and to stop pupils falling behind, our £1 billion catch up package remains in place, including the £650 million catch-up premium and in-school support through the National Tutoring Programme for the most disadvantaged. We are also looking ahead to the arrangements for the 2021 exam series and how, working closely Sir Kevan Collins, our new Education Recovery Commissioner, we can support catch-up and make up for lost learning over the summer: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-commissioner-appointed-to-oversee-education-catch-up.

The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. As of Monday 8 March 2021, over 1.2 million laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools, academy trusts, local authorities and further education colleges. The Department has based allocations on estimates of the need of disadvantaged children in Years 3 to 13. We have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online as well as delivering over 70,000 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home.

Last year, we strongly advised admission authorities to test in October or November 2020 rather than in the first weeks of September, as is the normal practice, to give all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, the chance to get back into the routine of education before being tested: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-assessment-processes-for-selective-school-admissions. We will consider whether guidance is needed for the 2022 testing round, which will take place in autumn 2021.

If a child is refused admission their parent has a right of appeal, even if they have failed the selection test. The Appeals Code then says that the panel can look at other evidence of a child’s ability, for example, SATS or report from the primary school, to establish whether they are of the required standard. Parents who consider their child did not perform to their utmost ability because of disruption can appeal on this basis. Please see the relevant sections of the Appeals Code: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/275897/school_admission_appeals_code_1_february_2012.pdf.

The government plays no role in the provision of student residential accommodation. Universities and private accommodation providers are autonomous and are responsible for setting their own rent agreements. Whether a student is entitled to a refund or to an early release from their contract will depend on the specific contractual arrangements between them and their provider.

This has been a very difficult time for students, and we encourage universities and private landlords to review their accommodation policies to ensure that they are fair, clear and have the interests of students at heart.

We recognise that, in these exceptional circumstances, some students may face financial hardship. The department has worked with the Office for Students to clarify that providers are able to draw on existing funds, worth around £256 million for the academic year 2020/21, towards hardship support. The government is making available up to a further £20 million on a one-off basis to support those that need it most, particularly disadvantaged students. As my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, said on 7 January, we are considering what more we can do to provide further support to students.

Maintenance loans are available as a contribution towards a student’s living costs while attending university. The system targets the most living cost support at those from the lowest income families, who need it most.

Students undertaking courses that would normally require attendance on-site, but for which learning has moved either fully or partially online due to the COVID-19 outbreak, will qualify for living costs support in the 2020/2021 academic year as they would ordinarily, provided that they continue to engage with their higher education (HE) provider. This also applies when the student is prevented from attending the course physically and is required to study online due to shielding.

If students have concerns about their accommodation fees, they should first raise their concerns with their accommodation provider. If their concerns remain unresolved, and their HE provider is involved in the provision of the accommodation, students at providers in England or Wales can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education to consider their complaint.

If a student thinks their accommodation provider is treating them unfairly, they can raise a complaint under the accommodation codes of practice as long as their provider is a code member. The codes can be found at: https://www.thesac.org.uk/, https://www.unipol.org.uk/the-code/how-to-complain, and https://www.rla.org.uk/about/nrla-code-of-practice.shtml.

Universities are autonomous and responsible for setting their own fees, up to a maximum of £9,250 for standard full-time undergraduate courses offered by approved (fee cap) providers. However, the government has been clear that universities are expected to maintain quality and academic standards and the quantity of tuition should not drop. Universities should seek to ensure all students, regardless of their background, can access their studies remotely.

The government has provided significant support to the higher education sector during the COVID-19 outbreak. Alongside access to the business support schemes, we brought forward £2 billion worth of tuition fee payments, provided £280 million of grant funding for research and established a loan scheme to cover up to 80% of a university’s income losses from international students for the academic year 2020/21, up to the value of their non-publicly funded research activity support research.

We are working closely with the Office for Students, and the sector to maintain an up-to-date understanding of issues arising during this academic year and are extremely grateful for the work of universities and other higher education providers.

During the national lockdown, in education settings where Year 7 and above are educated, face coverings should be worn by adults (staff and visitors) and pupils when moving around indoors outside of classrooms, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing is difficult to maintain.

Face coverings can make it more difficult to communicate with children with additional needs or children who may rely on lip reading or facial expressions for understanding. The Department expects staff to be sensitive to these needs when teaching and interacting with children.

As the Department’s guidance outlines, some individuals are exempt from wearing face coverings. This includes people who cannot put on, wear, or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness, impairment, or disability, or if you are speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound, or facial expressions to communicate. The same legal exemptions that apply to the wearing of face coverings in shops and on public transport also apply in schools, nurseries and colleges.

Based on current evidence and the measures that schools are already putting in place, such as the system of controls and consistent bubbles, face coverings will not generally be necessary in the classroom.

Children in primary schools do not need to wear a face covering, and older children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities may be exempt from wearing them, depending on their need.

The Department’s guidance on face coverings can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-in-education/face-coverings-in-education.

The Government has announced a package of support to ensure that schools have the support they need to help all pupils make up for lost teaching time. This includes a universal catch up premium for schools of £650 million and a new £350 million National Tutoring Programme for disadvantaged pupils.?This £1 billion package is on top of the £2.6 billion increase in school budgets for academic year 2020-21 that was announced last year, as part of a £14 billion three-year funding settlement, recognising the additional work schools will need to do to help students to catch up.

Schools have been working extremely hard over the summer to prepare for full reopening, as well as to develop remote education contingency plans. This is testament to their commitment to ensuring any missed education is recovered and that we minimise any disruption to education caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. We have a shared responsibility for working to ensure this generation of young people do not face long-term disadvantage.

To ensure that there is no doubt about the roles and responsibilities within the system for providing remote education, the Government published a Temporary Continuity Direction on 1 October, which makes it clear that schools have a duty to provide remote education for state-funded, school-age children unable to attend school due to COVID-19. This will come into effect from 22 October 2020. The direction poses no additional expectations on the quality of remote education expected of schools beyond those set out in the Department’s guidance.

The Department also announced further remote education support intended to support schools in meeting the remote education expectations set out in the schools guidance for full opening published in July. Further details of the support package can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19.

For schools, this support package includes an additional 250,000 laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and development resources for staff including a good practice guide and school-led webinars. The Department is also investing £1.5 million of additional funding to expand the EdTech Demonstrator programme, which provides peer-to-peer support for schools and colleges. The package is designed to help schools build on and deliver their existing plans in the event that pupils are unable to attend school because of COVID-19, in line with guidance and the law. This adds to existing support including the resources available from Oak National Academy.

The Department is engaging with Ofqual and representatives from schools and colleges in order to consider possible contingency arrangements for next year so that as many students as possible are able to enter exams.

All pupils, in all year groups, will return to school full time from the beginning of the autumn term. The Department has published guidance for parents and carers detailing what they need to know about education settings in the autumn term. The guidance is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-early-years-providers-schools-and-colleges-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/what-parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-early-years-providers-schools-and-colleges-in-the-autumn-term.

On 2 July the Government published guidance on the full opening of schools, including a Public Health England endorsed system of controls which, when implemented alongside the school’s own risk assessment, will create an inherently safer environment for children and staff where the risk of transmission of infection is substantially reduced.

On 17 August, the Government launched a ‘Back to School’ campaign which seeks to reassure parents and explain measures that nurseries, childminders, schools and colleges are taking to reduce the risk of transmission. The Department has worked closely with Department for Transport and Cabinet Office to support and inform parents.

It is vital that children and young people return to school for their educational progress, for their wellbeing, and for their wider development. School attendance will again be mandatory from the beginning of the new academic year. For parents and carers of children of compulsory school age, this means that the legal duty as a parent to send a child to school regularly will apply.

Schools should work with families to ensure children are attending full time from September. As usual, fines will sit alongside this, but only as a last resort and where there is no valid reason for absence.

The government recognises the importance of studying part-time and the benefits it can bring to individuals, employers and the wider economy.

In recent years we have already made a number of changes to support part-time and mature learners. Students starting to attend a part-time degree level course from 1 August 2018 onwards are able to access full-time equivalent maintenance loans. We have removed the “equivalent or lower qualification” restrictions for all STEM part-time degree courses. Students on these courses who already hold a degree can now access support through student loans. We have also supported higher education providers to offer part-time provision.

We have also made funding available through the Teaching Grant to providers to recognise the additional costs of part-time study. In the academic year 2020/21, £66 million will be made available for this.

These changes have resulted in us reversing the decline in part-time undergraduates. Over the last two years we have seen an increase in the number of entrants to part-time undergraduate degree level study at English higher education providers (it has increased from 33,980 in 2016/17 to 40,095 in 2018/19).

The Independent Panel set up to provide input into the Review of Post 18 Education and Funding considered different ways to support learners who want to study higher education more flexibly. The government is considering the Independent Panel’s report carefully but have not yet taken decisions with regards to the recommendations put forward. The government will conclude the review alongside the next Spending Review.

Training is vital in order to provide the highly skilled workforce that employers need to support the recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak.

We have supported further education providers and introduced a range of flexibilities, including encouraging online delivery, so that as many learners as possible can successfully complete their courses. We have also ensured that furloughed workers are able to start apprenticeships.

We have frequently engaged with further education providers to monitor the level of training that they are able to deliver and we have been actively working with them to address issues. From 15 June, providers should begin to offer some face to face contact to 16 to 19 learners in the first year of a 2-year study programme. We want to have all learners back into education settings, as soon as the scientific advice allows, because it is the best place for them to learn and because we know how important it is for their mental wellbeing to have social interactions with their peers and teachers.

We will also continue to work with providers and employers to ensure that they deliver the skills that our workers and economy need. This includes looking at ensuring that we support employers, especially small businesses, to take on new apprentices this year. In addition, we have launched a new online Skills Toolkit to provide free high quality digital and numeracy courses, the skills most sought after by employers. We have also already announced that we are providing an extra £3 billion over the course of this Parliament for a new National Skills Fund to help people learn new skills.

Our latest guidance on COVID-19 for the post-16 sector and all other educational settings is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings. Guidance for education and training that is due to begin in September 2020 will be published in due course.

These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

Training is vital in order to provide the highly skilled workforce that employers need to support the recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak.

We have supported further education providers and introduced a range of flexibilities, including encouraging online delivery, so that as many learners as possible can successfully complete their courses. We have also ensured that furloughed workers are able to start apprenticeships.

We have frequently engaged with further education providers to monitor the level of training that they are able to deliver and we have been actively working with them to address issues. From 15 June, providers should begin to offer some face to face contact to 16 to 19 learners in the first year of a 2-year study programme. We want to have all learners back into education settings, as soon as the scientific advice allows, because it is the best place for them to learn and because we know how important it is for their mental wellbeing to have social interactions with their peers and teachers.

We will also continue to work with providers and employers to ensure that they deliver the skills that our workers and economy need. This includes looking at ensuring that we support employers, especially small businesses, to take on new apprentices this year. In addition, we have launched a new online Skills Toolkit to provide free high quality digital and numeracy courses, the skills most sought after by employers. We have also already announced that we are providing an extra £3 billion over the course of this Parliament for a new National Skills Fund to help people learn new skills.

Our latest guidance on COVID-19 for the post-16 sector and all other educational settings is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings. Guidance for education and training that is due to begin in September 2020 will be published in due course.

These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

The Fostering Services Regulations 2011 provide a regulatory framework for fostering agencies and local authority fostering services for how they should deliver their functions. The regulations set out the information that fostering service providers must gather about prospective foster carers in order to satisfy themselves of an individual’s suitability to foster. This includes background, health, relationships and criminal checks, for example. It is for these providers to determine how they assess and approve their foster carers locally, within the regulations. The regulations are available here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/581/contents/made.

We recognise that fostering services may want to bring in more foster carers to help build capacity within their services in case of additional demand at this time. In order to assist fostering providers to do this, we have amended parts of the regulatory framework, as described in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020, which are available here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/445/pdfs/uksiem_20200445_en.pdf.

These allow different parts of the assessment to be undertaken simultaneously, avoiding unnecessary delays. However, the information required in assessing potential foster carers has not been changed nor have the expectations around the preparation of approved foster carers, prior to their first placement.

As both my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

We are encouraging schools to use existing catering arrangements to provide meals or food parcels to pupils who are eligible for free school meals while they are staying at home. Where this is not possible, the Department for Education has developed a national voucher scheme as an alternative.

The government’s contract agreement with Edenred for the provision of the free school meal voucher scheme does not include an exclusivity clause and we are able to engage with alternative or additional suppliers, should this be required. We have no plans to do this at this time.

Schools are best placed to determine what's most appropriate locally, and are free to make their own arrangements outside the national voucher scheme. Our guidance for schools sets out that they can be reimbursed for costs incurred where that scheme is not suitable for their families, including where none of the eight participating supermarkets have branches nearby.

These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.