Students: Coronavirus

(asked on 24th June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional support he is providing to universities for students who (a) are diagnosed with covid-19 or (b) have to self-isolate.


Answered by
Michelle Donelan Portrait
Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This question was answered on 29th June 2021

While universities are autonomous institutions, the safety and wellbeing of staff and students is always our priority.

We have published the ‘Higher education coronavirus (COVID-19) operational guidance’ which offers advice on supporting students who are self-isolating and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/higher-education-coronavirus-covid-19-operational-guidance#students-returning-to-campus. It is vitally important that universities continue to make sure that students feel as supported as possible if they need to self-isolate due to COVID-19. This robust package of support needs to include mental health and wellbeing support, daily communications and ensuring students have access to suitable free or affordable food.

Universities UK have also produced a checklist for providers to support students who are required to self-isolate as well as bespoke guidance for higher education (HE) providers on how to prepare for and care for students who are required to self-isolate on arrival in the UK. We encourage providers to review this guidance when considering how best to support their international and other students arriving from overseas. The checklist can be accessed here: https://universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Documents/2020/uuk-checklist-support-self-isolating-students.pdf.

The Office for Students (OfS) has published a statement on support for students in self-isolation during the COVID-19 outbreak, which can be accessed here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-and-events/blog/ofs-student-panel-statement-on-support-for-students-in-self-isolation-during-covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic/.

We have made an additional £85 million of funding available for student hardship in the 2020/21 academic year. This is on top of the £256 million of government funded student premium funding already available to HE providers to draw on. HE providers have are able to use this flexibly to support those students who need it most. It can be used in a variety of ways including the purchase mental health support and help for students due to financial hardship caused by illness and the need to self-isolate.

Alongside this, we have worked with the OfS to launch the online mental health platform Student Space, worth up to £3 million, in addition to the £15 million we have asked them to allocate to student mental health initiatives next year.

Some students may be eligible for a one-off payment of £500 through the NHS Test and Trace Support Payment scheme, if they are required to self-isolate. Further guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/test-and-trace-support-payment-scheme-claiming-financial-support/claiming-financial-support-under-the-test-and-trace-support-payment-scheme.

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