Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that primary schools, identified as a lower transmission risk, can reopen to all children as soon as possible.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Head teachers, teachers, and staff of schools, nurseries and colleges have been doing an extraordinary job to remain open, keep schools safe, and provide education for vulnerable children and the children of critical workers. On 7 January, the Department published further guidance which sets out what schools will need to do during this new period of national lockdown. The guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950510/School_national_restrictions_guidance.pdf.
Face-to-face education is best for children’s mental health and for their educational achievement. The Department has resisted restrictions on attendance at schools since the first lockdown but, in the face of the rapidly rising numbers of COVID-19 cases across the country and intense pressure on the NHS, we need to reduce all our social contacts wherever possible. Limiting attendance during the national lockdown will support the reduction of the overall number of social contacts in our communities.
During the period of national lockdown, schools, colleges and wraparound childcare and other out-of-school activities for children should allow only vulnerable children and young people and the children of critical workers to attend. All other pupils and students should not attend and should learn remotely.
The Department will continue to review the restrictions on schools and will ensure that children and young people return to face-to-face education as soon as possible.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of school closures on children with limited or no broadband connectivity in Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Nick Gibb
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.
This includes over 750,000 laptops and tablets that were delivered to schools, trusts and local authorities by the end of last week.
Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, trusts or local authorities who can lend these to children and young people who need them most, during the current COVID-19 restrictions.
All schools in Buckinghamshire have been invited to order their allocation of laptops and tablets and to request connectivity support. As of the 12 January, 834 devices have been delivered directly to Buckinghamshire local authority. Devices have also been allocated to academy trusts that have schools in Buckinghamshire.
The Department has partnered with the UK’s leading mobile network operators, such as EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone, to provide free data to disadvantaged families, which will support access to education resources, including Oak National Academy, and other websites.
Families will benefit from this additional data until July 2021. Schools can request free mobile data uplifts via the Get Help with Technology service.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has made for the roll out of the covid-19 vaccine in Buckinghamshire; and what the timetable is for that roll out.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The National Health Service (NHS) has a tried and tested track record for delivering vaccination programmes and is working with existing partners across the healthcare system to ensure the safe and effective deployment of a COVID-19 vaccine across every region of the United Kingdom.
Alongside local partners, the NHS has been working to ensure fair access and maximum uptake of the vaccine which is why it has developed three different models of delivery. Included in this are hospital hubs, local vaccination services and vaccination centres. More than 730 vaccination sites have already been established across the UK and hundreds more are opening shortly to take the total to over 1,000.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to clear the backlog of containers being used to store PPE at the Port of Felixstowe and remove that PPE to warehouse storage and free the containers to be returned to destination to carry further supplies.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have cleared the backlog of containers containing personal protective equipment at Felixstowe and are now managing the expected flow of containers that continue to arrive.
Our United Kingdom storage network is comprised of warehousing environments and off-quay container storage facilities combined with rental containers, all of which are being utilised to enable the release of containers back to the shipping lines.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that (a) the UK has access to sufficient shipping capacity and (b) capacity is not being withheld to manipulate shipping costs.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Shipping is a global commercial market, and shipping lines will adjust their operations and pricing to take account of demand and market fluctuations. Shipping lines are currently facing a period of exceptional demand versus capacity that is causing price rises on an international level, and causing operational challenges worldwide.
This includes operations into and out of the UK and Europe. Whilst this remains predominantly a commercial issue for the market to resolve, Government is liaising closely with shipping lines and ports to encourage mitigations and management of operations to minimise the impacts on the UK wherever possible.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to introduce (a) programmes for people to retrain as qualified HGV drivers and (b) other schemes to tackle the shortage of those drivers.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentre Plus to ensure that HGV drivers who are out of work can find employment as quickly as possible. The Flexible Support Fund is available for unemployed drivers who need to renew their Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (DCPC).
In addition, we are working with the sector to develop a suite of Trailblazer Apprenticeships to help them make the most of the apprenticeship levy. We have also provided a grant to Road to Logistics, a non-profit organisation, seeking to train ex-service personnel, the long term unemployed and ex-offenders to drive lorries.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to clear the backlog of containers at the port of Felixstowe.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Government is liaising closely with the Port of Felixstowe, but also other UK ports, and international shipping lines on their response to the current global container demand surge. Ports are working hard to handle volumes of freight significantly in excess of normal peaks and under challenging Covid-19 operational circumstances. Whilst this is predominantly a commercial issue, Government is taking action to reduce supply chain pressures, for example a temporary relaxation of HGV drivers rules and we acted to remove the majority of PPE containers from Felixstowe.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that students receive value for money as their contact hours are reduced in response to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
As I set out in a letter to MPs on 9 October and in a letter to Vice-Chancellors on 2 November, the government’s clear and stated expectation is that, whether providers are delivering face-to-face, online or blended provision, they must continue delivering a high quality academic experience that helps all students achieve qualifications that they and employers value. If there are concerns, the Office for Students (OfS) has the powers to act. The OfS has made it clear that higher education (HE) providers must continue to comply with registration conditions relating to quality and standards, which set out requirements to ensure that courses are high-quality, that students are supported and achieve good outcomes and that standards are protected.
The OfS has published information on quality and standards for providers, providing practical guidance on how best to ensure students continue to receive a high-quality academic experience. This guidance sets out that providers should make all reasonable efforts to provide alternative teaching and support for students that is at least broadly equivalent to the provider’s usual arrangements. The OfS will keep this guidance under review to ensure it remains relevant to the developing circumstances of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education has also published a series of guides to support providers to secure academic standards and to support student achievement during the COVID-19 outbreak.
HE providers must continue to comply with their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010, ensuring that education and learning is accessible to all students. When making changes to the delivery of their courses, providers need to consider how they support all students, particularly the most vulnerable, to achieve successful academic and professional outcomes.
The OfS is taking very seriously the potential impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on teaching and learning and is regularly engaging with all registered providers. It is actively monitoring those providers which have moved provision predominantly online due to COVID-19 restrictions to ensure: that they maintain the quality of their provision; that it is accessible for all; and that they have been clear in their communications with students about how arrangements for teaching and learning may change throughout the year. The OfS is also following up directly with providers where they receive notifications from students, parents or others raising concerns about the quality of teaching on offer, and requiring providers to report to them when they are not able to deliver a course or award a qualification. If the OfS has concerns, it will investigate further.
The OfS is also monitoring the position across the sector, for instance, through polling of student views. Where appropriate, and in response to issues raised through that monitoring, it will issue further advice to the sector.
Students have rights under consumer law that they may be able to rely on if they are dissatisfied with their provider’s response to COVID-19 outbreak. In the first instance, students should speak to their provider to see if they can resolve their issue. We expect student complaints and appeals processes to be operated flexibly, accessibly, and sympathetically by providers to resolve any concerns. If a student at a provider in England or Wales is not satisfied with their provider’s final response, they should go to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, which has published guidance on this issue.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to work with (a) the Lily Jo Project and (b) other mental health organisations to support people affected by the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
We continue to work closely with the National Health Service, Public Health England and a wide range of stakeholders to support people’s mental wellbeing and mental health throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support bank branches at risk of closure during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government has worked closely with the financial regulators to ensure that banks, building societies, credit unions and the Post Office continue to maintain branch access for essential banking services while balancing the needs of their customers with the safety and welfare of staff. The vast majority of branches have remained open.
In the longer term, banking service providers will need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering its branch strategy. Decisions on opening and closing branches are taken by the management team of each bank on a commercial basis and the Government does not intervene in these decisions.
However, the Government also firmly believes that the impact of branch closures should be understood, considered, and mitigated where possible so that all customers, wherever they live, continue to have access to over the counter banking services.
Since May 2017, the major high street banks have signed up to the Access to Banking Standard, in which they commit to ensure customers are well informed about branch closures, the bank’s reasons for closure and options for continued access to banking services.
In September 2020, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published guidance setting out their expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of a planned closure on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs, and other relevant branch services and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This will ensure the implementation of closure decisions is done in a way that treats customers fairly.
Alternative options for access might include the Post Office, where 95% of business and 99% of personal banking customers are able to carry out their everyday banking at over 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.