Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) efficacy, and (2) urgency, of installing air filters in schools over the Christmas period while school pupils are on holiday.

During the autumn term, the department provided CO2 monitors to all state-funded education providers, including early years, schools and further education colleges, backed by £25 million in government funding. Feedback suggests that schools are finding the monitors helpful to manage ventilation and, in the majority of providrrs, existing ventilation measures are sufficient.

Where an area of poor ventilation has been identified that cannot be resolved through simple measures such as opening doors and windows, schools are advised to explore what remedial works may be required to improve ventilation. Where it is not possible to maintain adequate ventilation, it may be appropriate to consider the use of an air cleaning unit while the underlying ventilation issue is addressed.

When used properly, air cleaning units can help reduce airborne contaminants in a poorly ventilated space, including viruses like COVID-19. Air cleaning units are not a substitute for ventilation and should never be used as a reason to reduce ventilation. They are not necessary in spaces that are adequately ventilated.

The department’s decision to make air cleaning units available for poorly ventilated spaces in education and care settings has been formed by advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and external consultation with specialists. We will continue to develop our policy and guidance on ventilation in line with the latest scientific advice and in consultation with industry wide experts.

Deliveries of air cleaning units will start from this week to special educational needs and disabilities and alternative provision providers. These were allocated in the first application round announced in November for special and alternative provision providers.

The second round of applications is open until 9am on 17 January. All state funded schools (primary and secondary), further education colleges and nurseries can apply.  Special and alternative provision providers that were not successful or did not apply in the first round are also eligible to apply in this round. Once applications have closed, all applications will be assessed against strict criteria and allocated to providers based on need. Providers with successful applications will be contacted individually to arrange delivery, with deliveries expected from February 2022.

For those providers that are not eligible for funded units, the online marketplace provides a route to purchasing air cleaning units directly from suppliers at a suitable specification and competitive price. The marketplace can be accessed here: https://s107t01-webapp-v2-01.azurewebsites.net/list/air-cleaning.