Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the evidential basis for the decision to close schools in response to the covid-19 outbreak.

We recognise that transparency is important in these unprecedented times. Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) advice and papers are not generally published until after an emergency has ended. However, given the extended nature of the pandemic, we have already published some of the statements and the accompanying evidence. These publications can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies-sage-coronavirus-covid-19-response

In addition, it is intended to further speed up the publication SAGE papers over the coming weeks.