Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to issue guidance to universities on making adjustments and improvements to premises used for teaching and accommodation to (a) improve ventilation and (b) reduce the risk of covid-19 transmission during the summer 2022 university vacation period.

Answered by Michelle Donelan

The department has no plans to issue further guidance to the higher education (HE) sector with regards to COVID-19.

On 21 February 2022, the Prime Minister announced the Living with COVID-19 guidance which set out how England would move into a new phase of managing COVID-19. On 1 April 2022, the department published ‘Emergency planning and response for education, childcare, and children’s social care settings’. This is non-statutory guidance which replaced previous guidance for education settings, including HE. This emergency planning and response guidance was produced to help all education,including HE, childcare, and children’s social care settings respond to emergencies.

In April 2022, the UK Health Security Agency published a practical guide for staff on managing cases of infectious diseases in education and childcare settings. This included guidance on keeping occupied spaces well ventilated. There is additional guidance on ventilation in the workplace provided by the Health and Safety Executive, available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/ventilation/.

The department remains grateful to the HE sector for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the great effort it makes to ensure staff and students remain protected.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish guidance for universities on refunding students whose face-to-face teaching contact was reduced during the covid-19 restrictions.

Answered by Michelle Donelan

The unprecedented and unique nature of the COVID-19 outbreak necessitated changes to the way higher education (HE) providers delivered their teaching.

HE providers have delivered new and innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Some providers continue to use some of these approaches alongside in-person provision. However, online learning should only be offered to enhance the student experience, not to detract from it, and it should not be used as a cost-cutting measure.

In line with all other settings, HE providers should continue to conduct risk assessments for their particular circumstances. Risk assessments should take account of the approach to managing COVID-19 in wider society, particularly now that all restrictions have been removed and the vaccine programme continues to be rolled out. Risk assessments should never be used to prevent providers delivering a full programme of face-to-face teaching and learning.

HE providers are independent and autonomous bodies which are responsible for the management of their own affairs. If students have concerns about the delivery of their university courses, they should first raise them with their provider. If their concerns remain unresolved, students at providers in England or Wales can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for HE to consider their complaint.