Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Government’s Guidance for full opening: schools, what assessment he has made of the additional cost to parents of equipment such as pencils and pens identified in the guidance that individual pupils should have when schools open in full.

All pupils, in all year groups, will return to school full-time from the beginning of the autumn term. On 2 July the Government published guidance to help schools prepare for this. The guidance can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

The published guidance provides advice to schools on the sharing and cleaning of resources and equipment. Whilst there is no expectation for parents to fund significant additional equipment, for individual and very frequently used equipment such as pencils and pens, it is recommended that staff and pupils have their own items that are not shared.

For those most in need, the Government have injected around £9 billion into the welfare system to support those on low incomes to cope with the financial impact of COVID-19. This includes increases to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit, worth up to £1,040 this financial year, and increasing Local Housing Allowance rates - putting an average of £600 into people’s pockets. This is in addition to the around £5 billion increase to the 2020/21 benefit rates uprating, including around £400 million more on children’s benefits.