Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing staff and children in schools with personal protective equipment.

It is important to underline that schools, all childcare settings (including early years settings, childminders and providers of childcare for school-age children), colleges and other educational establishments, remain safe places for children and staff. The fewer children making the journey to school and the fewer children in educational settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in wider society.

We have published guidance on social distancing in educational settings to limit the risk of the virus spreading. It can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-social-distancing-in-education-and-childcare-settings.

We will work with schools, childcare settings and local authorities to ensure that adequate supplies of personal and domestic cleaning products are available to schools. We will issue further detailed guidance regarding the supply and use of personal protective equipment to settings that require it.