Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the legal basis is for the detention of students within halls of residence at Manchester Metropolitan University who are not displaying symptoms of covid-19 and have not tested positive for the disease.

The safety and wellbeing of staff and students in higher education (HE) is always our priority. The government is doing all it can to minimise the risks to those working and studying in our HE providers in this unprecedented situation, while mitigating the impact on education.

Students should follow the latest health advice, meaning that they should stay in their accommodation in the event that they, or anyone in their household, develops symptoms or are otherwise required to self-isolate.

Decisions on which measures to apply should be made by the local public health team, based on the information received through NHS Test and Trace. HE providers should work with Public Health England to agree on which instructions they provide to students and should ensure that students understand what is required of them if they need to self-isolate.