House of Commons
Monday 12 October 2020
The House met at half-past Two o’clock
Prayers
[Mr Speaker in the Chair]
Virtual participation in proceedings commenced (Order, 4 June).
[NB: [V] denotes a Member participating virtually.]
Oral Answers to Questions
Education
The Secretary of State was asked—
Educational Attainment
My Department is committed to raising standards across the country and levelling up opportunities for all. Our £1 billion covid recovery package includes a £350 million national tutoring programme targeted at disadvantaged pupils, and we continue to invest in the growth of strong academy trusts to drive attainment in areas facing particular challenges.
In blue wall constituencies such as North West Durham and more broadly across the north of England, it is quite clear that the Government’s lifelong learning announcement will really benefit people and communities disproportionately well, helping our Government’s levelling-up agenda. What assessment have the Government made of the impact on earnings of individuals who gain a level 3 qualification, rather than sticking at level 2?
My hon. Friend raises an incredibly important point, because there is so much evidence that if people have an A-level equivalent qualification, the benefits that they will have throughout their life are significant, with an increase of 10% of average earnings for those who gain that qualification. That is why our lifetime skills guarantee is so vital to ensure that people right across the country have the opportunities that we want all our constituents to have.
Educational attainment depends very much on the quality of the teachers. In Scotland, teachers must attain a specified professional standard, which is not necessarily replicated in other parts of the UK. The General Teaching Council for Scotland has raised concerns about the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill and its implications for the profession in Scotland, so will the Secretary of State agree to meet the General Teaching Council for Scotland to discuss these concerns?
Of course, we would always be happy to meet.
My right hon Friend is right to delay the exams, as announced today. What assessment has been made of the students who missed learning over the past six months in terms of the catch-up needed for the learning they have lost, and what is the plan, if students are sent home, to ensure that they carry on learning at home online?
My right hon. Friend raises the vital point that we need to ensure that we have continuity of education. I think every Member of this House recognises the value that all children gain from being in school with their teachers and having the opportunity to learn, and that is why issuing the direction of continuity of education and ensuring that schools are held accountable for delivering education even if pupils are having to isolate at home is so incredibly important. We need to ensure that every child, whether they are in the classroom or at home, is getting the education that they require.
Childcare: Parental Access
High-quality childcare supports children’s development and helps parents to work, and we are therefore continuing to bulk-buy childcare hours from the sector at pre-covid levels, even if providers had closed due to the pandemic. Some 708,000 children attended an early years setting on 1 October, which is an increase of about 300,000 compared with the end of the summer term. We have also encouraged schools to ensure that after-school and breakfast clubs are reopening.
Many residents in Hyndburn and Haslingden have contacted me regarding our manifesto commitment to delivering a £1 billion flexible childcare fund to support parents and children with holiday and wraparound care. What progress is being made on delivering on that promise?
I thank my hon. Friend for raising such an important question. We know that families want to be able to access affordable out-of-school childcare, and that is particularly important during the school summer holidays, so our manifesto commitment is to establish a new £1 billion fund from next year to help to create more accessible childcare, including before school, after school and in the summer school holidays. As with all future commitments, this is dependent on the outcome of the spending review, and I hope to be able to update the House with further details following the spending review.
Nurseries in west Berkshire suffered a loss of fee income during the lockdown, and they are now anxious about a reduction in parental demand. They are grateful for the guaranteed funding until the end of this year, but what assessment has my hon. Friend made of the recovery of parental demand, and what assurances can she give the sector for the rest of the academic year?
May I start by thanking childcare providers in west Berkshire and across the country for providing such essential support for our very youngest children? This term, we have committed to block buying those hours from providers, provided that they are open, regardless of how many children are attending, and local authorities should pass that funding on. We are obviously looking closely at the situation from next term, and the future funding will be dependent on the funding review, but the really good news is that attendance is increasing and, on 1 October, the numbers showed that it was about 80% of the pre-covid usual daily level of attendance.
Data from Ofsted shows that the number of nurseries and other childcare providers with coronavirus cases has, on average, been doubling every week since the start of September, yet many early years workers cannot access covid tests or get quick results, which is forcing them to stay at home. I have heard from a nursery in Surrey that has been forced to close as a result, affecting 40 children and depriving their parents of childcare. Will the Minister confirm whether childcare workers still qualify for priority testing? If so, why are they not getting it?
Yes, I can absolutely confirm that education and childcare workers, including those in the early years, are essential workers and have priority access, via the online booking portal. That has been the case since April.
Further Education: Public Transport and Covid-19
We have been working closely with the Secretary of State for Transport to ensure that young people can travel and continue to travel to their place of education during the coronavirus pandemic. We have made £44 million available to fund additional dedicated transport to schools and colleges, and we will announce additional funding shortly.
Does the Minister accept that the Government have a responsibility to ensure that local authorities have the funds available to operate low-cost travel schemes, such as the System One scheme in Greater Manchester? Does she agree that it is unacceptable for the Treasury to simply devolve cuts, which will ultimately have an impact on young people?
Of course we have taken very seriously the issue of ensuring that children can get to school and colleges; there has been not only an extra £2 billion in funding to help people to walk to school and to make it safe for them to get to school, but £44 million for dedicated transport. So the Treasury is putting a lot of investment into this area.
Home Learning: Covid-19
As part of £160 million invested to support remote education, more than 220,000 laptops and tablets have already been delivered, with 40,000 routers additional to that. We are now supplementing this support by making available 250,000 additional devices in the event that face-to-face schooling is disrupted. This represents an injection of nearly half a million laptops and tablets for those most in need.
But from 22 October schools will be required to provide remote education to those pupils isolating because of coronavirus. Ofcom estimates that up to 1.78 million children in the UK have no access to a laptop, desktop or tablet at home, and this policy will fail them. With less than two weeks until the changes, how can the education of those children be guaranteed? Is it not time to ensure that every child entitled to a free school meal is provided with internet access and an adequate device at home?
The hon. Lady will probably be familiar with our policy and the fact that we have set up support for schools that will have to provide remote education for children, whereby we are making sure that those children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds are properly supported by this programme and investment of half a million laptops.
Online Education: Children and Covid-19
Although the vast majority of children are back in the classroom, we have made 250,000 laptops and tablets available in the event that face-to-face education is disrupted, building on more than 220,000 already delivered to those most in need. We have also made resources available to schools to deliver high-quality online education, alongside the Government-funded Oak National Academy, which is providing video lessons across a broad range of subjects.
What measures are this Government putting in place to ensure that disadvantaged children right across Bolton have extra online support to get them through the winter of covid and put a spring in their step in 2021?
It is vital that students have a spring in their step and that they have access to high-quality remote education, so we have invested more than £160 million in connectivity, devices and support—including more than 980 laptops and tablets to Bolton Council—alongside additional devices delivered to academy trusts. We are now making available 250,000 more devices nationwide in the event of further disruption. My hon. Friend will be pleased to know that Bolton schools and academies have already received more than £1 million in their first catch-up premium payment.
Covid-19 has had a detrimental effect on some of the most underprivileged children in our society. My right hon. Friend will remember a Westminster Hall debate in September 2016 on this issue. A white working-class boy—an example who represents a substantial proportion of pupil numbers in Lincoln—is 10% less likely to participate in higher education than any other ethnic group or gender. What is my right hon. Friend doing, and what has he done, to ensure that we close this gap and that the ongoing pandemic does not make the situation worse?
I do remember that important debate that my hon. Friend secured. I share his determination to see the academic attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils—including white working-class boys—and others closed. That determination has been at the core of all our education reforms since 2010, particularly in respect of the focus on phonics in the teaching of reading, the evidence-based approach to the teaching of maths, and a more knowledge-based curriculum. Since 2011, the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and others has narrowed by 13% at key stage 2 and by 9% at key stage 4. The £1 billion catch-up premium, with £350 million specifically targeted towards disadvantaged students, is designed to address the widening attainment gaps caused by measures taken to tackle the covid pandemic.
Online Learning: Universities and Covid-19
The Government are working to ensure that all students have access to digital learning, including by helping providers to draw upon the existing funding of £256 million for the year 2020-21 to go towards the purchase of IT equipment and wider hardship support. The Government expect universities to continue to deliver high-quality academic experiences for all students.
The Secretary of State should have seen the new analysis today that shows that infection rates on university campuses are up to seven times higher than those in surrounding areas. There are fears that this will spread the virus to higher-risk groups in the local community. The Government should have moved teaching online before term started, as the University and College Union recommended. Will the Minister accept the Government’s error in not doing so and instruct universities to move to online learning as the default? Or will she and the Government continue to play Russian roulette with the lives of students, staff and local communities?
The Government have prioritised education. We do not believe it would be right to put students’ lives and academic journeys on hold. Although only a small proportion of university populations have covid, it is an awful experience for every student who is having to self-isolate, which is why it is so important that support—from providing food to mental health and wellbeing support—is there for those students. I was pleased to see the Universities UK statement last week detailing the sector’s commitment to that support, which is in line with exactly what the Government expect.
In the Education Select Committee sitting last Tuesday, the Minister was unable to say how many students are self-isolating and therefore totally reliant on accessing digital and online learning. She was also unable to say how many students have covid-19; how we will ensure that tests are available to students; when the two-week late “imminent” guidance, with robust frequently asked questions on students returning home for Christmas, will be published; or even how many students are currently learning only online. What impact does the Minister think her Government’s incompetence and inability to answer basic questions about covid-19 in our universities is having on the spread of the virus in university towns and cities?
I will begin with the Christmas guidance, which is certainly not late—I am sure the hon. Lady will understand that it is important that we get this right. I am working with the sector, with a sub-working group—the taskforce—to identify the issues and ensure that comprehensive guidance is forthcoming. That commitment to students on Christmas remains. Around 9,000 students currently have covid. This is the data that has been sent to us by universities. It is the cumulative number of cases over the past seven days and is based on a student population of about 2 million. Public Health England informs us that 68 universities have outbreaks. We will go back to those universities to ascertain that data and, as of next week, working with the Office for Students, there will be a new data regime, which will be much more transparent.
Children with SEND: Covid-19
Children with special educational needs and disabilities have faced many challenges during the pandemic, and some of them will find returning to school difficult, but the good news is that more than 80% of those with education, health and care plans are now attending. We have published guidance and resources to support schools to re-engage pupils with learning. We are increasing high-needs funding by a nearly quarter—a record amount—over a two-year period and we are also providing an additional £1 billion in catch-up support for schools.
I asked the Education Secretary on 2 July and again on 7 September about support for children with SEND during the covid-19 catch-up. He said that he would write to me, but that letter has not been forthcoming. I ask again: what assisted technology is being offered as part of the distribution of laptops and tablets to enable pupils to work from home if needed? Will the Minister provide an answer this time or will I have to do this again next month?
I am enormously proud of the fact that we are one of the few countries in the world that have asked schools to remain open for vulnerable children, including those with the most severe disabilities. Although we know that they could not all attend due to their own circumstances, it is incredibly important that they all get back to schools. On remote learning, to support schools in delivering remote education, we have delivered a range of resources and guidance, including specific support for children and young people with SEND. Obviously, those who were eligible for laptops receive laptops and devices as part of that programme.
Access to Education: Local Lockdowns
The Department is committed to the continuation of high-quality education for all pupils. We have asked that every school plan for the possibility of local restrictions to ensure continuity of education. We have published a direction, which provides an express legal duty on schools to provide remote education where needed.
In our mission to level up, I am keen to ensure that every child has the resources and support that they need to thrive. What is the Secretary of State doing to ensure that the most vulnerable children and those with complex needs, such as the wonderful children at Penn Fields in my constituency, can have everything that they need to thrive during this time?
My hon. Friend and constituency neighbour is right to highlight the brilliant work at Penn Fields School that serves not only his constituents, but mine as well. I will, if I may, also highlight the wonderful work of Wightwick Hall School, which is in my constituency and also serves his constituents as well. They are doing an amazing job during this pandemic, but it is right to ask how we can support them more. That is why, in terms of covid catch-up funding, the support that we are providing for those special schools is three times the rate of that going to mainstream schools, which recognises the extra challenges that they have to deal with.
A-Levels: Covid-19
Exams are the fairest form of assessment. Ofqual has confirmed changes to A-level assessment content, and we have announced today a short delay in the exam timetable to free up teaching time to ensure that exams remain a fair assessment for all.
Significant concessions were under- standably made for A-level graduates this year because of covid-19, but what plans are being developed to ensure that next year’s A-level students are not disadvantaged in terms of university places?
The Government and universities understand what a difficult time young people have had. We are committed to working together to support the 2021 cohort: that is a key priority. We are also working with Ofqual and the exam boards to consider our approach to exams and assessments in 2021.
University Teaching and Student Services: Covid-19
We announced a package of measures in May to support the sector. We have also issued guidance on reopening, reflecting advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, and we have worked with universities to ensure that they have outbreak plans that are shared with their local Public Health England teams. We will shortly provide additional guidance on winter planning and end-of-term preparations.
A constituent of mine who is also an associate lecturer at Nottingham Trent University wrote to me to say that a safe start to the new academic year would be a boost in a year that has been awful in so many ways. Why was it important to reopen universities? Does my hon. Friend agree with my constituent’s suggestion that specific testing and monitoring systems for universities might help to provide a safety net for very close-knit groups?
This Government have prioritised education. We simply cannot ask students to put their lives, or their academic journeys, on hold. To do so would mean removing opportunities, damaging social mobility and punishing young people. The education and welfare of students is at the forefront of all our decisions. That is why we have worked and continue to work with the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that students get access to tests if symptomatic so that the trace work can kick in immediately.
Last week I spoke to several constituents who are students at university. As per the Minister’s answer, I think it is fair to say that education and welfare, in many respects, leaves a lot to be desired. Could she and the Department help me to understand why several universities are not giving face-to-face teaching at all, even in an appropriate socially distanced way; are being extremely draconian in the way that certain students are being treated in terms of their social contact, which is a critical part of being at university; and, in some cases, are even charging £18 a day for food parcels? Could the Minister put appropriate pressure on universities—not all of them but those that are not performing—to sort this out?
Universities are offering blended learning unless they have moved to a higher covid tier, in conjunction with their local Public Health England team. But let me be clear: no university should seek to profit from students self-isolating, and reported charges of £18 a day for food parcels are quite simply outrageous. Students self-isolating in catered halls should receive free food, while other students should receive food that is either free—as many universities, including Sheffield Hallam and Edge Hill, are doing—or at a price that can be afforded within a student’s budget. I have spoken to many universities on this, and I am also writing to them to make the point.
Special Schools: Covid-19
We have published specific guidance to support the full opening of special schools. Recognising the additional challenges that they face, we have announced a package of support worth £1 billion, which includes a £650 million catch-up premium with additional weighting for specialist settings. We are also increasing the high-needs funding by an additional £1.5 billion over this year and next.
I visited the excellent Fairways Primary School in my constituency this morning. I have also been contacted by two special schools, Estuary High School, which is having difficulty in getting tests for their students in their residential homes, and Kingsdown School, which is very worried about the new guidance issued on 28 August in terms of social distancing. Will my right hon. Friend look at those two points for me, please?
All schools are issued with sets of testing kit, and they have the ability to order more via the NHS portal. I would be very happy to look at the two points highlighted by my hon. Friend.
Schools: Covid-19 Costs
Schools have continued to receive their core funding throughout the covid-19 outbreak and have been able to claim funds to meet certain exceptional costs in the period between March and July. We have so far paid out £58 million to schools, with further payments due later this autumn, and we are also providing £1 billion in catch-up funding. The Department and Ministers regularly meet school leaders on a range of covid-19 issues, including in relation to costs faced by schools.
I have been going back to school, and in doing so I have been speaking to a number of headteachers and principals who are increasingly alarmed about the costs they have incurred on PPE spend. What is the Minister doing to assure them that their budgets will not be stripped and that they will be able to recoup some of those losses?
Schools have continued to receive their core funding and should be using that to support their covid-19 expenditure. They have also been able to claim up to £75,000 to meet certain exceptional costs in that period between March and July. Brixham College and King Edward VI Community College have applied to the exceptional costs funds, and King Edward VI has received payments and Brixham will be receiving payments shortly.
Headteachers in my constituency tell me they are having to invest significantly in extra cleaning procedures and safety measures, as well as extra staff to cover periods of self-isolation. Further, many schools have also lost reliable income streams from hiring out spaces and fundraising events. Even before covid-19, school budgets were already stretched after years of cuts. With the pandemic set to continue, will the Minister commit today to extra funds for schools in the months to come?
This year is the first of a three-year funding settlement for schools. It is the largest increase in school funding for more than a decade, with £2.6 billion more funding for schools this year. In the hon. Lady’s constituency, pupil-led funding will rise by 2.2% this year.
Last week, the Schools Minister told me, as he has just alluded to, that schools have already submitted claims for £148 million for help with the extra covid-related costs they faced between March and July. As he just said, the Government have so far paid £58 million to schools for help during that period. Why is it that the Government accept that schools needed that additional help with covid costs earlier in the year, but are now ignoring pleas from headteachers for the resources they need for covid-related costs from September onwards? When will the Government recognise the significant extra costs of supply teachers required when staff self-isolate?
The hon. Lady is right that schools have been able to claim for exceptional covid-related costs for that period of March to July. Our priority now, as schools reopen to all pupils, is to target the available extra funding on catch-up, supporting schools to help all pupils to catch-up lost teaching time when schools were closed to most pupils. The £1 billion catch-up funding includes £650 million distributed on a per pupil basis to all schools, which means that a typical 1,000-pupil secondary school will receive £80,000 in extra funding this year. That is on top of the three-year funding settlement that I mentioned earlier—the biggest funding boost for schools in a decade.
SEND Education Funding
We are putting an extra £730 million into funding those with complex special educational needs and disabilities next year, which represents a 10% increase year-on-year in the high-needs block, and that comes on top of the £780 million increase for this year, which means that the block will have grown by £1.5 billion, which is an increase of nearly a quarter. In Hertfordshire, funding for the high-needs block will grow by 24% over that two-year period.
I welcome the increased Government funding in Hertfordshire, but the county council does not pass it through to families on the frontline. It is cutting funding to our Delivering Special Provision Locally groups. Our child and mental health services are overwhelmed. It is focusing on process, instead of our children with SEND. Will the Minister undertake a review of the real accessibility of SEND services in Hertfordshire and help me hold the council to account, so that we can fix SEND in Hertfordshire?
I thank my hon. Friend for his concern for the young people of Hertfordshire and their families. The Government are undertaking a major review of the special educational needs and disabilities system. It is a major priority for the Government and we are considering improvements to make sure that the SEND system is consistent, high quality and integrated across education, health and care and, importantly, that it works with parents, carers and families to make sure that they and their children are at the heart of the system.
Apprenticeships
I thank my hon. Friend for his question and for his support for apprenticeships. Apprenticeships will be more important than ever to support our economic recovery and help businesses to recruit the right people and develop the skills they need to recover and grow. To support employers to offer new apprenticeships, they can now claim £2,000 for every new apprentice they hire under the age of 25 and £1,500 for those aged over 25.
As a country, we rightly champion our wonderful universities. However, we are often too slow—particularly in schools—to promote apprenticeships. Will my hon. Friend assure me that she is doing everything in her power to ensure that apprenticeships are seen as a valid part of our education system?
As a former apprentice, I can reassure my hon. Friend that, this is very much at the forefront of my focus. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor have made it clear that further education is now more important than ever. That is part of the reason we are introducing once-in-a-generation reforms of the FE system through our skills White Paper, underpinning the progress we are already making with T-levels, which is backed by £500 million of funding per year, investing £1.5 billion in the transformation of the FE college estate, investing £2.5 billion through the national skills fund and introducing a new entitlement for adults without qualifications at level 3.
The Minister is right to say that apprenticeships are more important than ever, but for all the rhetoric, the way that the Government introduced the apprenticeship levy saw level 2 and level 3 apprenticeship numbers falling to their lowest level for a decade before coronavirus. Since then, we have seen generous incentives in the new kickstart scheme and much less generous incentives for apprenticeships. For all that the Minister says, why do this Government consistently introduce policies that have the effect of reducing the numbers doing level 2 and 3 apprenticeships?
The hon. Gentleman refers, I think, to the switch from frameworks to standards, which did have an impact on some of the numbers, but it was most important that we focused on the quality of apprenticeships. There were a number of apprenticeships early on, when we introduced the reform of the system, that were not of the desired quality. Young people put their trust in us, in the apprenticeship provider and in the employer, and it is most important that they get very high-quality apprenticeships; that is our focus.
University STEM Subjects
The Government encourage the study of science, technology, engineering and maths at all stages, which is vital for our economy and to drive productivity. In higher education, we are removing loan funding barriers for part-time STEM study at equivalent or lower levels and piloting graduate conversion courses for studying engineering, computer science and artificial intelligence.
In my constituency of Ynys Môn, I am working with Coleg Menai, M-SParc and the team at Bangor University to organise an innovation jobs fair. How is the Minister encouraging innovative companies such as Dyson to invest in the next generation?
Dyson’s UK site is based just outside my constituency, and I must declare that it has twice sponsored the Wiltshire Festival of Engineering, which I have organised. I am delighted that, as of last week, the pioneering Dyson Institute will be able to award its own degrees. A business taking this step is revolutionary, and I hope that many more will follow, to give students a much more diverse choice in higher education and ensure that we can deliver the skills that this country needs.
Religious Education: Maintained Schools
Maintained schools are required to teach religious education to all five to 18-year-olds. Any concerns that a maintained school is not meeting that duty should first go through the school’s complaints procedure, and if the complaint is not resolved, the issue can be escalated to the Department’s school complaints unit.
Religious education helps children to grow up with an understanding of and respect for people from different religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. It is also a statutory requirement, but the Religious Education Council tells me that 40% of all schools give no hours to RE in year 11. Does the Minister agree that the Department needs to better support schools to ensure that they are meeting their obligations to teach RE?
I agree with the hon. Member. Good- quality religious education can help to develop children’s knowledge of the values and traditions of Britain and other countries, and foster understanding among different faiths and cultures. At a national level, the proportion of time secondary schools spend teaching RE has actually remained broadly stable. It was 3.2% of all teaching hours in 2010 and 3.3% in 2019.
Summer 2021 Year 11 Exams
We continue to believe that exams are the fairest form of assessment. Today we announced our plans for next summer’s year 11 exams to take place—the GCSEs—and we will work with Ofqual to engage the sector in planning for a range of scenarios of potential disruption to exams to ensure students get the results they deserve.
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s written statement today and thank him for ending the uncertainty that was facing pupils, teachers and parents alike. Please can he reassure constituents such as one of mine, 15-year-old Charlotte, who wrote to me a couple of weeks ago and inspired this question today, that next year’s exams will take into account the disruption there has been to their learning, while allowing them to demonstrate their ability and what they have learned over the past few years, and please will he reassure her that further detail as to how that will be achieved will be coming very soon?
My right hon. Friend raises an important point. We do believe that the subject level changes to the content of assessment that was confirmed by Ofqual recently will reduce the pressure on students and free up teaching time. Combined with the timing changes to exams announced today, this does free up more teaching time to help address any unfairness. On top of that, as I have said before, there is the £1 billion catch-up fund, and we will have more to say later in the autumn about the issue of grading.
Disadvantaged Children: Educational Attainment
We are taking unprecedented action to help schools support wellbeing, including wellbeing for education return training, and world-leading trials on ways to promote mental health wellbeing. Disadvantaged pupils will receive high-quality tuition through the £350 million national tutoring programme, and we continue to provide schools with the £2.4 billion pupil premium.
We have seen the educational attainment gap between disadvantaged and advantaged children widen over the past decade, especially for children with special educational needs and disabilities. On top of this, earlier this year we heard from the Education Policy Institute that this attainment gap had widened during covid. What is the Secretary of State’s assessment of the impact of covid on levelling up for SEND children?
I think the hon. Lady and I have a shared passion to make sure that we close that gap, making sure that children, wherever they are born anywhere in the United Kingdom, have the very best opportunities in life. As the Prime Minister himself said, talent and ability are evenly spread in this country, but opportunity has not always been so. In an earlier answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton South West (Stuart Anderson), I touched on the fact that there is a three times weighting for children with special educational needs in terms of the covid catch-up fund, making sure that extra support is channelled that way. I am sure that the hon. Lady has welcomed the announcements we made not just last year but this year, which saw a total of £1.5 billion-worth of extra funding being channelled into high needs funding in this country over this year and next year.
The programmes that exist to encourage and inspire bright pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to access top universities have been severely impacted this year. The application deadline for Oxbridge medicine and dentistry is this Thursday. What action is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that this year’s state school pupils, who have already been disadvantaged because of the reduced teaching time and mentoring, get a fair crack of the whip?
I am sure that the hon. Gentleman welcomed the news this year that Oxford and Cambridge welcome more state school pupils than they have ever done before. We want to continue to build on that. We want to ensure that every higher education establishment makes sure that all the opportunities that they can offer are available to every single child, whatever background they come from.
Tackling rising levels of food poverty would be one good way of improving the wellbeing of disadvantaged children and helping to raise educational attainment, so why will Ministers not extend the holiday hunger food vouchers programme to the half-term holiday and Christmas holidays?
As well as the incredibly successful holiday activity programme that we saw rolled out across many areas of England, we are looking at what more we can do in these areas, while recognising the important role that schools play in supporting pupils in their learning but also supporting their families.
University Education: Covid-19
We are working across Government and closely with the higher education sector to provide both practical and financial support through the covid-19 outbreak. This includes publishing reopening guidance to universities informed by SAGE advice, lifting caps on domestic medicine and dentistry causes for 2020-21, and providing both additional capital and teaching grant funding.
I thank the Minister for her response. She may be aware of concerns that the impact of the covid pandemic on the student experience will see higher non-completion rates, despite the best efforts of students and staff to continue teaching and learning throughout the outbreak. If non-completion rates were to increase, would the Government consider allocating additional financial support to universities to help cover the costs of non-completion?
We have a taskforce that meets weekly, and non-completion is something we have discussed. It is imperative that we support students to continue and complete their courses, and that we unlock their future potential and opportunities. This Government are determined to stand by them and ensure that happens.
Topical Questions
The Secretary of State is not here. Perhaps we will hear the supplementary question, as we have no further detail.
For students in the Black Country, T-levels and technical education will be a vital part of our story when coming out of this crisis. My further education providers are committed to ensuring that we get this right, but there is some concern about the work experience time allocation element. Will my hon. Friend meet me and representatives from my fantastic FE college, Sandwell College, to discuss how we can ensure that this system works for students in the Black Country?
T-levels are a fantastic initiative that the Government have rolled out, and I will certainly speak to the Skills Minister and meet my hon. Friend to discuss how this issue can be sorted.
The shadow Secretary of State can now ask two questions to whichever Minister would like to take them.
Perhaps I could start by asking the Schools Minister a question, since he is here. The Secretary of State has repeatedly said that every child would return to school in September, and I support him in that ambition. Being safely back in school is best for children’s wellbeing and learning. Latest figures show that one in 10 pupils are out of school, as bubbles and year groups are forced to isolate whenever a child or a member of staff tests positive for covid. Worryingly, attendance at special schools is down at just over 80%, and some teachers report that parents are withdrawing their children altogether to home-school them.
We are not even at the start of winter, yet hundreds of thousands of children are already having their learning disrupted. We all agree that a functional test and trace system is crucial to keep teachers and children safely in schools. How many pupils and staff are currently waiting for a test result or are forced to isolate? Why have the Government not included school pupils on the list of priority groups for testing, as the schools Minister promised?
Teachers and headteachers up and down the country have done a tremendous job of getting children back to school, and 99.8% of schools are open in this country. In special schools some 80% of children with education, health and care plans are in school, and we kept schools open for children with EHC plans throughout our tackling of the pandemic. We have a very successful test and trace scheme, which is why we are able to pinpoint local outbreaks, and why we have statistics about outbreaks up and down the country. By the end of the month we intend—
Order. I say to those on both Front Benches that topical questions are meant to be short and punchy, not full-blown questions. If people want full-blown questions they should ask them earlier. I have to get through topicals. I call the shadow Secretary of State to ask a question to the Secretary of State.
I welcome the Secretary of State to his place. On 1 October, he said that people must be given
“the opportunity to retrain and upskill”—[Official Report, 1 October 2020; Vol. 681, c. 541.]
but it has now been announced that his Department will be scrapping the union learning fund, which supports hundreds of thousands of learners each year, many with little or no formal education. That scheme benefits workers, our economy and business, so getting rid of it must be either astonishing incompetence or playing shameless politics with people’s life chances. Which is it, and will the Secretary of State rethink this wrong-headed initiative?
It probably wasn’t worth the wait, Mr Speaker.
It is very kind of the hon. Lady to read out the press release that the TUC sent her, but the reality is that we are investing more in skills and further education than ever before. That is why we are investing over £1.5 billion in capital in further education. That is why we are investing more in level 3 A-level equivalent qualifications. That is why we are driving opportunities forward. I will not apologise; if we think we can spend money that was previously channelled to the TUC in a better way to deliver more opportunities in our colleges, yes, we will do it in a better way, and that is what we are doing.
May I just say that the Secretary of State will apologise to the House, because it was rather discourteous of him to disappear?
Mr Speaker, I apologise for being a little late. I got waylaid by a colleague asking a question outside the Chamber, and I did not realise the speed at which you were working through the Order Paper; it was so much more efficient than the last Speaker.
My hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Craig Whittaker) raises a really important question about apprenticeships and ensuring that we support youngsters who may find themselves in a situation with the company that they are working for where they are not in a position to complete their apprenticeship. That is why we are working very closely across Government to put in place measures to ensure that if a youngster, or anyone of any age, is in a position where they would not be able to complete their apprenticeship, they can do so, and to support employers to continue to take on apprentices. That includes the up to £2,000 that employers can benefit from by taking on apprentices.
Order. It is not my efficiency; 3.15 pm is when topicals start.
I was delighted to hear last week that the Scottish Tories now support the Scottish National party’s policy on free university tuition. I am sure the Secretary of State will welcome that U-turn, but can he confirm that the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill will not undermine the ability of the Scottish Government to set university fees in Scotland, or to continue providing free university tuition?
The hon. Lady seems always to miss the point that we live in a United Kingdom of four nations together, where there is one single market, and that we have to ensure that there is efficient and proper use of that market so that all four nations properly benefit.
My hon. Friend raises such an important point about the importance of having the right provision in Cornwall for her constituents. When I visited her constituency, I saw how she was campaigning so hard to get the very best for all her constituents. I would be very happy to meet her to discuss this further and to discuss how best to ensure that we deliver the brilliant provision she is always rightly fighting for.
I do not just share my hon. Friend’s enthusiasm; I am right there with him, cheering it on and making sure that it happens. I pay tribute to him and other brilliant Conservative colleagues in Stoke-on-Trent, including of course the Conservative leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Councillor Abi Brown, who has been driving this forward so hard. We want to see all schools having that connectivity and the benefits that the internet can bring for every single child in our schools.
The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. When we looked at the provision of support for children, especially the most disadvantaged, we were looking at the equipment not just in terms of laptops or tablets, but the routers that go with them. We have also been working, along with colleagues from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with major internet providers on how we ensure that that provision is available for all youngsters across the country.
It looks as if I will be spending the day with my hon. Friend as we tour Wolverhampton, which would be an absolute delight. I look forward to joining him in doing that. Let me take the opportunity to thank not just those teachers, support staff and parents but, most importantly, the children, who have ensured that the return of schools has been such a success, with so many children getting back to school and having the opportunity to learn. Despite the efforts of some, this has been a success, and children are the ones who are benefiting more than any others.
We take this issue very seriously. We have already supplied 220,000 laptops and tablets to schools and local authorities up and down the country—one of the biggest procurements of computer devices in this country. We have plans in place for another 250,000 laptops, and £160 million has been spent ensuring that people have access to the internet should they need to self-isolate. However, at the moment, 99.8% of schools are open and 90% of pupils are in school learning with their teachers.
I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman’s predecessor, Chris White, who is involved in the Warwickshire College Group and has already made representations to me on this matter. We recognise that the college sector plays an important role. That is why we have been increasing the rate of support and funding. We will continue to work with the sector to ensure not just its future stability but its future success.
That is why we have given extra flexibilities to colleges and made learner support funds available for devices and to cover connectivity costs, which is an issue that some students have faced. Further education must be at the heart of our recovery from this pandemic, as it is able to reach into many communities that, in the past, have been left behind. It will not only create life chances and opportunities for many young people, but will drive productivity across all parts of the United Kingdom. To ensure that we deliver on that, I look forward to working with my hon. Friend, who is a passionate advocate of further education colleges not just in his constituency but across the country.
The hon. Lady speaks, rightly, with a passion and conviction on this issue that I share. We want to see this ended; we want to see this changed. It is not something that we can allow to continue. She will be aware of the Department’s consultation on the issue, and we look forward to publishing the results in the not-too-distant future. This is incredibly important, as these children are from some of the most vulnerable backgrounds in the country, and we have a duty as a state to do everything we can to protect them.
The purpose of the Office for Students is to ensure that
“every student has a fulfilling experience of higher education”.
In the light of the current difficulties faced by undergraduates, will the Secretary of State commit to a post-covid review of the OfS?
I will work closely with the OfS to ensure that it is working with universities and that universities are delivering what students expect and require for their studies. We will always work closely with all government organisations to deliver the very best for students and ensure that universities deliver on students’ behalf.
In order to allow the safe exit of hon. Members participating in this item of business and the safe arrival of those participating in the next, I am suspending the House for three minutes.
Sitting suspended.
Covid-19 Update
With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on our continuing fight against coronavirus and how we intend to fulfil our simultaneous objectives of saving lives and protecting the NHS while keeping our children in school and our economy running, thus protecting jobs and livelihoods.
This morning, the deputy chief medical officer set out the stark reality of the second wave of the virus. The number of cases has quadrupled in the last three weeks. There are now more people in hospital with covid than when we went into lockdown on 23 March, and deaths are already rising. Of course, there are those who say that on that logic, we should go back into a full national lockdown of indefinite duration, closing schools and businesses, telling people again to stay at home as we did in March, and once again shattering our lives and our society. I do not believe that would be the right course. We would not only deprive our children of their education, but we would do such damage to our economy as to erode our long-time ability to fund the NHS and other crucial public services.
On the other side of the argument, there are those who think that the patience of the public is now exhausted, that we should abandon the fight against covid, stand aside, let nature take her course and call a halt to these repressions of liberty. Of course, I understand those emotions. I understand the frustration of those who have been chafing under the restrictions and the sacrifices they have made. But if we were to follow that course and let the virus rip, the bleak mathematics dictate that we would suffer not only an intolerable death toll, but put such a huge strain on our NHS with an uncontrolled second spike, that our doctors and nurses would be simply unable to devote themselves to other treatments for cancer, heart disease and hundreds more illnesses that have already been delayed and would be delayed again, with serious long-term damage to the health of the nation.
I am afraid that it is no answer to say that we could let the virus take hold among the young and fit while shielding the elderly and vulnerable, because the virus would then spread with such velocity in the general population that there would be no way of stopping it spreading among the elderly. Even if the virus is less lethal for the under-60s, there will still be many younger people for whom, alas, it remains lethal.
We do not want to go back to another national lockdown; we cannot let the virus rip, so since June we have followed a balanced approach, with the support of many Members across the House, to keep the R down while keeping schools and the economy going, and controlling the virus by changing our behaviour to restrict its spread. That is why we have the rule of six and restrictions such as the 10 pm closing time on our hospitality sector.
I take no pleasure whatsoever in imposing restrictions on those businesses, many of which have gone to great lengths to reopen as safely as possible. Nor do I want to stop people enjoying themselves. But we must act to save lives and the evidence shows that in changing our behaviour to restrict transmission between us, our actions are saving lives. Left unchecked, each person with the virus will infect an average of between 2.7 and three others, but the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies assesses that the current R nationally is between 1.2 and 1.5. So we are already suppressing that R to well below its natural level, which is why the virus is not spreading as quickly as it did in March, but we need to go further. In recent months we have worked with local leaders to counter local spikes with targeted restrictions. This local approach has inevitably produced different sets of rules in different parts of the country, which are now complex to understand and to enforce. So just as we simplified our national rules with the rule of six, we will now simplify and standardise our local rules by introducing a three-tiered system of local covid alert levels in England, set at medium, high and very high.
The medium alert level, which will cover most of the country, will consist of the current national measures. This includes the rule of six and the closure of hospitality at 10 pm.
The high alert level reflects the interventions in many local areas at the moment. This primarily aims to reduce household-to-household transmission, by preventing all mixing between different households or support bubbles indoors. In these areas, the rule of six will continue to apply outdoors, where it is harder for the virus to spread, in public spaces as well as private gardens. Most areas which are already subject to local restrictions will automatically move into the high alert level. As a result of rising infection rates, Nottinghamshire, east and west Cheshire and a small area of High Peak will also move into the high alert level.
The very high alert level will apply where transmission rates are rising most rapidly and where the NHS could soon be under unbearable pressure without further restrictions. In these areas the Government will set a baseline of prohibiting social mixing indoors and in private gardens, and, I am sorry to say, closing pubs and bars. We want to create the maximum possible local consensus behind this more severe local action, so in each area we will work with local government leaders on the additional measures which should be taken. This could lead to further restrictions on the hospitality, leisure, entertainment or personal care sectors, but retail, schools and universities will remain open.
As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has set out, the Government will expand their unprecedented economic support to assist those affected by these decisions, extending our job support scheme to cover two thirds of the wages of those in any business that is required to close, and providing those businesses with a cash grant of up to £3,000 a month, instead of £1,500 every three weeks. We will also provide local authorities across England with around £1 billion of new financial support, on top of our £3.6 billion towns fund. And for “very high” areas, we will give further financial support for local test and trace and local enforcement, and assistance from the armed forces—not for enforcement, but rather to support local services, if desired in the local area.
I can report that we have been able to reach agreement with leaders in Merseyside. Local authorities in the Liverpool city region will move into the very high alert level from Wednesday. In addition to the baseline I have outlined—this is as well as pubs and bars—in Merseyside gyms and leisure centres, betting shops, adult gaming centres and casinos will also close. I would like to put on record my thanks to Steve Rotheram and his colleagues for their co-operation in very difficult circumstances.
Engagement with other leaders in the north-west, the north-east and Yorkshire and the Humber is continuing. I know how difficult this is—they, like us, like everyone in this House, are grappling with very real dilemmas—but we cannot let the NHS fall over when lives are at stake. Let me repeat the offer that we are making to those local authorities: work with us on these difficult but necessary measures in the areas that are rated very high, in return for more support for local test and trace, more funding for local enforcement, the offer of help from the armed services, and the job support scheme, as announced by the Chancellor.
I believe not to act would be unforgivable, so I hope that rapid progress can be made in the coming days. Regulations for all three covid local alert levels are being laid today. They will be debated and voted on tomorrow, before coming into force on Wednesday.
We will also keep these measures under constant review, including a four-week sunset clause for interventions in very high areas. A postcode search on gov.uk, as well as the NHS covid-19 app, will show which local alert level applies in each area. We are also publishing updated guidance to explain what the covid alert levels mean for those who are clinically extremely vulnerable. While these levels specifically apply to England, we continue to work closely with the devolved Administrations to tackle this virus across the whole United Kingdom.
This is not how we want to live our lives, but this is the narrow path we have to tread between the social and economic trauma of a full lockdown and the massive human and, indeed, economic cost of an uncontained epidemic. With local, regional and national Government coming together in a shared responsibility and a shared effort to deliver ever better testing and tracing and ever more efficient enforcement of rules; with ever improving therapies and the mountains of personal protective equipment and the ventilators that we have stockpiled; and with all the lessons we have learned in the last few months, we are becoming better and better at fighting this virus.
Though I must warn the House again that the weeks and months ahead will continue to be difficult and will test the mettle of this country, I have no doubt at all that, together, we will succeed, and I commend this statement to the House.
I thank the Prime Minister for advance sight of his statement and for his telephone call earlier today.
We are at a critical moment—“a tipping point”, to quote the deputy chief medical officer. We have all seen the clear and alarming trend in infection rates. The virus is now spreading in all areas of the United Kingdom, though much faster in some areas than others. As the Prime Minister and the deputy chief medical officer said, there are more patients in hospital with covid today than when the country went into lockdown on 23 March, and deaths are rising. Nobody should be under any illusion about where this is heading or about the need for decisive action. The question today is whether the restrictions announced by the Prime Minister can bring the country back from the brink and whether they can regain control of the virus and provide the support and confidence that local businesses and communities need.
That is how high the stakes now are, so we will consider the package, we will look at the small print of the Prime Minister’s statement, we will discuss them with local mayors, councillors and leaders in the areas most affected and we will scrutinise the economic package that sits alongside them. But I have to say to the Prime Minister that I am now deeply sceptical that the Government have actually got a plan to get control of this virus, to protect jobs or to regain public trust. We have tried to give the Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt, but it increasingly feels like the Prime Minister is several steps behind the curve and running to catch up with a virus that he lost control of long ago.
It was less than three weeks ago, on 22 September, that the Prime Minister came to this House to announce new restrictions. He said then that the measures he was introducing would
“curb the number of daily infections”
and that those restrictions were
“carefully judged to achieve the maximum reduction in the R number”. —[Official Report, 22 September 2020; Vol. 680, c. 797-98.]
That has not happened. Those measures have not worked. We would not be here today if they had.
There is a pattern here. On 1 July, the Prime Minister told us of his new whack-a-mole strategy to control local outbreaks. Twenty areas have now been in restrictions for more than two months, and 19 of them have seen their infection rates rise, some by very large amounts, so those measures have not worked either.
In May, the Prime Minister boasted of a “world-beating” track and trace system. He told us that it would be a “real game changer” in the fight against the virus. We have debated this many times since, but last week, the figures were the worst yet. The Prime Minister promised that 100% of test results would be turned around in 24 hours. The latest figure for in-person testing is just 24% being turned around in that period.
This serial failure, combined with the repeated leaks and briefings to newspapers in the past few days, have fatally eroded public confidence just when we need it most, so can the Prime Minister tell us what reassurance he can give us that these measures today will be sufficient to get the virus under control? Will he finally accept that trace and isolate should be handed over to local authorities, as we have been saying for months? Will he accept that the support packages announced by the Chancellor simply will not work for many thousands of people, particularly those on the minimum wage? There is huge anger about this in the areas under lockdown, and there is a huge gap in the Government’s plan. Will he confirm that Mayors, local leaders, council leaders and others will be fully involved in any future decisions?
Finally, I want to say this to the Prime Minister. I know that there will be some on his side who will oppose further restrictions, who will look at the data and tell him to disregard it or who will say that the cost of acting now is too high. I want to be clear: the worst thing that the Prime Minister can do is not act quickly and decisively enough, and keep coming back to this House every couple of weeks with a new plan that does not work and is not up to the scale of the task. We need to break that cycle, finally get on top of the virus and rebuild public confidence. I hope that the measures announced today will do that, but the House and the country will be deeply sceptical about whether they can.
We have had a slight change of tack, in my view, from the right hon. and learned Gentleman, who has hitherto been willing to support the measures that the Government are putting in place to restrict the spread of coronavirus. We now see an equivocation; he wants it both ways. He said he supported the rule of six, and then his side refused to vote for it. He said he is unwilling to support the restrictions we placed on hospitality, and he continually runs down NHS Test and Trace. What he will not say is what he would do or exactly how he would propose to get this virus down without those kinds of restrictions. If he supports the tier 3 measures that Merseyside city region has rightly put into place today, he should say so. He should have the guts to say to local leaders across the country that he supports those measures and that he encourages them to go into tier 3.
It is a stunning silence that we have heard from the right hon. and learned Gentleman. We, by contrast, are working with those local leaders to put in place the measures that will protect their populations, protect the NHS, keep our economy moving and drive the virus down. That is our collective endeavour, and I strongly urge the right hon. and learned Gentleman to work out where he stands and to stop flip-flopping from one side to the next—or rather, to go back to his previous position, which was to support restrictive measures where necessary to drive the virus down.
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. I recognise that these are difficult times and that he has to make difficult and, I hope, balanced choices, balancing the economic damage against the need to save our fellow citizens. In all this, one positive point that has barely been referred to is that the death rate has fallen from 3% in June to 0.6% at the moment, which has to be seen as possibly part of what the Government are trying to do.
The Government’s strategy, quite legitimately, is therefore to drive down the infection rate—I understand that—while searching for a vaccine, so I simply want to raise a point that others including the scientific advisers have raised. There is a lot of talk at the moment about the two antivirals that have now arrived, remdesivir and ivermectin. Given the Government’s objective of driving down the infection rate, and given that the average age of death at the moment is 82.4, should we not make those antivirals much more widely available at the earliest opportunity, through GPs and every other doctor, in order to get them to people to reduce the likelihood of their going into hospital and dying?
Order. May I just try to help everybody? We need short, punchy answers and questions, as that will help us to get through everybody on the list.
My right hon. Friend is, of course, right to say that we have better treatments, but, alas, the death rate has risen many times over—six times over—in the past few weeks and we have no choice in these circumstances, with more people being admitted to hospital every day, in order to get the virus down.
In recent weeks, we have all witnessed the worrying trends of infection, the upsurge in hospitalisations and, sadly, the increase in death. The danger of the virus is self-evident. We know that we are at a tipping point, so today must be a turning point, when we must once again act collectively and get back to the absolute priority of suppressing the virus, protecting the NHS and saving lives. So may I ask the Prime Minister: is the policy to bring the R rate below 1 through the highest-level interventions being proposed? Since the beginning, we have known that mass testing is vital. Any delays in the processing of tests slow the start of contact tracing. Can the Prime Minister advise what proportion of tests in the past seven days took longer than 48 hours to process? What steps are we taking to ensure that there is no backlog in processing from the Lighthouse labs?
If today is to be a turning point, the UK Government need to carry out another U-turn on financial support for workers. It is blindingly and blatantly unfair that just as health restrictions are being strengthened economic support is being weakened. The Chancellor needs finally to wake up to that logic. There must be no more last- minute, half-baked economic announcements. Even Tory Backbenchers in the north of England are calling for the furlough to be maintained at 80% of wage support. Will the Prime Minister give some certainty and security to businesses and workers? Will he finally instruct his Chancellor to extend the full furlough scheme beyond October? Businesses and workers must not pay the price for managing the lockdown with closures and unemployment when their businesses would be viable after these special measures.
Will the Prime Minister also confirm that devolved Administrations will be able to trigger the financial support directly without requiring approval from the UK Government when they choose to put an area under heightened restrictions to help reduce the spread of the virus?
Finally, on universal credit and support for the most vulnerable, last Wednesday at Prime Minister’s questions the Prime Minister suggested that I ask him again about his Government’s plan to maintain the lifeline of the uplift in UC support. So now that he has had another week to consider it, will he do the right thing and make the £20 UC uplift permanent?
On NHS Test and Trace, capacity has massively increased, to 312,000, as the right hon. Gentleman knows. He asked what steps we are taking. We are introducing new testing sites—I think it is 500 new testing sites—and we are introducing more labs for testing. He also asks what we can do to get the virus down and the measures we are taking. He is completely right that it depends on enforcement and on testing and tracing, but it also depends on each and every one of us following the guidance, working together to get the virus down. That is what I hope he will encourage everyone to do. On the excellent point he raises about support for businesses that are going to be affected by the latest measures, I would just stress that the Chancellor’s latest job support scheme, at 67%, is highly competitive with those of all other European countries and indeed it is more generous than many. We will continue to put our arms around every worker and every business in this country to the best of the ability of this country. On the right hon. Gentleman’s specific point about universal credit, the uplift will remain present for the rest of this financial year.
Just to help the House, I will finish the statement at 5.50 pm, so let us help each other.
This morning, it was announced that the routine testing of asymptomatic NHS staff in hotspot areas would start. This has been long advocated by the Health and Social Care Committee, and I thank the Prime Minister for the progress on it.
We all want to avoid a second national lockdown, which would be devastating for jobs. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the evidence from China, Korea and Italy is that the best way to avoid that is to have earlier, decisive, localised interventions, however difficult and unpalatable, and that today’s difficult decision is not, therefore, about a trade-off between jobs and health, but ultimately the best way to secure both?
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right in what he says, and I know that local leaders across the country will listen to him. I hope they will accept our offer and go into tier 3 where necessary.
The Government have asked a lot from people during the pandemic: stay at home; close your business; do not be there at the death of a loved one. The British people have borne such sacrifice with grace and resilience; all they ask from the Government in return is clear communication and basic competence, yet it seems that their sacrifices have been squandered by the Government’s failure to build a robust test, trace and isolate system, or even to communicate competently. Will the Prime Minister promise that the new sacrifices he is asking of people today will not be squandered this time?
We are working hard with colleagues from all parties to get across our messages, and I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for the support that he has felt able to give for the measures we have outlined. I believe they can be very effective if they are delivered jointly with local authorities and local support. That is what we are working for, and I hope he will join us in that effort.
Pubs throughout Burton and Uttoxeter will appreciate the support available to them through the job support scheme in the event of a local lockdown, but will my right hon. Friend consider the impact on breweries, which will not be eligible for the support but will have no pubs to sell to?
I understand the point that my hon. Friend makes. The regular job support scheme will of course be available to businesses that are open but not able to trade in the way that they would want.
We must of course do all we can to ensure that the NHS is able to cope with the current situation. I agree with the Prime Minister that a localised approach is the right one, while keeping schools and businesses open. On support for those who have so far not received support, will the Prime Minister commit to putting his arms around people who have not yet benefited from the various schemes that the Government have introduced?
We will always do what we can to improve the welfare system for those who are not benefiting, but I remind the House that the self-employed —the group we all care about very much—have so far received £13.5 billion of support. We will continue to look after them as well.
One of the many reasons why the Prime Minister has proved himself such a formidable and popular politician over so many years has been his resolute belief in the common sense of the British people. Instead of a constant blizzard of arbitrary rules that will serve only to collapse the economy and destroy businesses and jobs, will he remind people of what is important—social distancing and washing hands, and the groups most at risk, including the elderly and people with health conditions—and once again put his trust in the British people to act responsibly? After all, believing that individuals make better decisions for themselves, their families and their communities than the state can make for them is surely at the heart of what it means to be a Conservative.
My hon. Friend is exactly right, and the best decision that individuals can make for themselves, their families and their communities is to follow the guidance: wash your hands; face; space; and protect the NHS and save lives.
People from Conwy, which has 122 cases per 100,000 people, are not permitted by Welsh law to make non-essential journeys into Meirionnydd next door, where cases stand at 18 per 100,000. But people from Liverpool, with almost 1,600 cases per 100,000, can still go on holiday in Gwynedd and Ynys Môn. People in Wales are asking the Prime Minister: how is that fair?
The guidance is very clear that people from areas with very high levels, such as Merseyside, should not be making those journeys.
Is my right hon. Friend aware that, although the case rate remains relatively low in Essex, the number of cases is doubling every 10 days? Is it not better to bring in decisive measures that will suppress the curve before it climbs, rather than wait until after, provided those measures are effective and there is economic support, particularly for the hospitality sector?
My hon. Friend is completely right, and that is why we are bringing in this package.
Today, we seem to have a partial admission of the failure of the Government’s outsourced test and trace system. When so many of us have argued for so long that it should be in the hands of local public health teams, does the Prime Minister regret handing billions over to the private sector, which has failed so spectacularly? Will he now give this system back to local public health teams, who know their communities best, so that they can be responsible for test and trace in all areas, not just those with high numbers? Finally, will he stop saying that he has put his arms around the self-employed, when more than 3 million of them have had no support since March?
I repeat the point that I have made about the self-employed: £13.5 billion has been given to support them, and where there is more we can do, we will obviously look at it. The hon. Lady makes an interesting point about whether a local approach would have been better throughout this than a national approach. All the evidence is that we need both. That is what we have supplied, and that is what we will continue to supply. That is why we are expanding our support for the local approach. The experience of other countries shows that we need a national approach, because otherwise the local test and trace operations simply do not join up. Plenty of countries have had that experience, and that is why we are taking an approach that joins up local test and trace with national test and trace.
What does the Prime Minister make of the special envoy’s statement that
“We in the World Health Organisation do not advocate lockdowns as the primary means of control of this virus”?
I totally agree with what David Nabarro had to say—I think he is completely right. I think that the best way to control this virus is common-sensical restrictions on person-to-person contact, because it is that person-to-person contact that spreads the virus. That is what we all need to do.
Northern Ireland is suffering from some of the worst covid figures in the UK. Can the Prime Minister follow through on his commitment to give the Northern Ireland Executive the financial firepower to follow the science, do what is necessary to address a deteriorating situation and give businesses the support they need?
Of course. Businesses in Northern Ireland will receive exactly the same support on the basis of Barnett consequentials; that is inevitable.
I welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment to work at a local level, but I hope he will understand my disappointment that Wolverhampton has been lumped into a tier 2 system, despite the protestations of all three MPs and the local council. My fantastic pubs and restaurants have done everything asked of them, and now, because they are in tier 2, they face having no financial support at all and a devastating effect on their viability. Will he urgently look at that?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend, but actually, the job support scheme is precisely available to pubs, restaurants and businesses in her constituency that may be open but are not able to trade as they normally would.
The Prime Minister is aware that, if we are to tackle these horrendous rises in covid-19 in the Liverpool city region, we need a much more effective track, trace and isolate system, but we do not have one yet. Will he accept my suggestion that we establish a Liverpool city region test, trace and isolate taskforce, including the NHS, local authorities, the Metro Mayor and other stakeholders, to report by the end of this week with suggestions on how the unused NHS capacity that exists could be used more effectively, so that we have a proper test, trace and isolate system in place?
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his suggestion. I can tell him that we are already working with the Liverpool city region on improving local test and trace. His suggestion is very apposite and one, I am sure, that will be taken forward in the course of those conversations.
We are seeing a very unwelcome trend from the Labour party, which backs the Government’s sensible measures one week, only to flip-flop and change its mind the next week. Does my right hon. Friend agree with me and several constituents from Derbyshire Dales who say that what they want to see is this House working together on sensible policies rather than political point scoring?
Yes, indeed. What the people of this country want to see is unanimous support for measures that restrict the spread of the virus. We have had that before, and I hope that we will have it again. I also hope that Opposition Members who are calling on me to do more in Greater Manchester will prevail on the authorities there to come into tier 3 and to help us to get there.
Tragically, one of the few certainties about this second wave is that economic hardship will rise, so why will the Prime Minister not review the level of statutory sick pay, which even the Health Secretary said that he could not afford to live on, or, crucially, extend the holiday hunger food voucher programme to cover half-term and the Christmas holidays?
As the hon. Gentleman knows, we have given substantial sums—£380 million already—to provide meals for kids in need of free school meals in these difficult times, and we will continue, through universal credit and other support, to help families across this country throughout this crisis.
I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s collaborative approach with local government and with the mayors, but will he bear in mind that we have unity among the politicians and the public health experts across the west midlands under our skilful and much-respected Mayor Andy Street in support of the current levels of restrictions, because they do appear to be working? The medical evidence and political consensus suggest leaving the west midlands at level 1 with the additional local restrictions.
Alas, the virus’s continued rise across the country is not uniform, but the judgments that we have made are ones that we are sticking to.
For the record, Mr Speaker, as you are aware, Halton, although a member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, is actually in Cheshire. The Prime Minister or his Ministers announced new restrictions on 14, 22 and 24 September and as recently as 3 October national or local restrictions, which impacted on my constituency. Is this not an example of how the Government are shifting from one restriction to the next without any real proper plan? My constituency of Halton has a lower rate of infection than a number of other areas that are not in the highest restriction rate. May I ask the Prime Minister why Halton is in that highest restriction rate when others are not?
This Government are of course obliged to adapt their plans to combat the virus, as the epidemic changes shape and changes course. Our objective remains unchanged, which is to get the R rate down in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency and elsewhere, while keeping education open and keeping our economy going. That is something on which both sides of this House are united.
The Prime Minister has said there will be a four-week sunset for areas with the highest restrictions. What reassurance can he give to areas in tiers 1 and 2, some of which have had additional restrictions already for two and a half months, that this will not become a permanent state?
We keep all these things under constant review, and nothing could be more attractive to the Government than moving the whole country out of the present restrictions that we are in as fast as possible. That requires us all to follow the guidance.
The Prime Minister just said that he wants to put his arms around every worker in the country, but that will sound pretty hollow to those people left alone and abandoned, who have been excluded from any covid support from this Government. They now face a £20-a-week reduction in their universal credit, so will he answer the question that I am asked by my increasingly desperate constituents every day? How are they to pay their bills?
Don’t forget that this Government have increased universal credit by about £7 billion, perhaps £9 billion—£1,000 a year—and the uplift will remain in place for this financial year, as I told the House earlier.
By when does my right hon. Friend expect to have vaccinated the vulnerable population? What is his confidence in that date, and why does he have that confidence?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend. Alas, I cannot give him a date by which I can promise confidently that we will have a vaccine. There are some very hopeful signs, not least from the Oxford-AstraZeneca trials that are being conducted, but, as he knows, SARS took place 18 years ago and we still do not have a vaccine for SARS. I do not wish to depress him, but we must be realistic about this. There is a good chance of a vaccine, but it cannot be taken for granted.
Instead of supporting the established system in public health, the Prime Minister has invested £10 billion in privatised companies. It has not controlled the virus, it has not saved lives and it has not rebuilt the economy. In Brent, the wonderful CEO, Carolyn Downs, with the leader of the council, Mo Butt, had control of local testing. We were able to test people very quickly, and in surrounding areas. The Government have taken the majority of the testing away. People are told they have to travel miles to get tested and, in addition, care workers have waited seven days to get their test results. When will the Prime Minister stop his obsession with this centralised approach and go for a decentralised approach that works?
I understand the point that the hon. Lady makes, and obviously, again, I am sorry for the bad experiences that some people have had with the excessive turnaround times for NHS Test and Trace and so on, but I do think that the mixed approach that we are taking is the right one. We need a joined-up, national Test and Trace system combined with the work of local authorities, and that is what we are delivering.
I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and for the tireless work that he is putting in to tackle this wretched virus. A number of constituents running hospitality businesses have contacted me, such as Cheryl, who runs the Station Hotel in Bishop Auckland. She is particularly concerned about the lack of households being able to meet within her pub. Can the Prime Minister reassure Cheryl that we will look at lifting those local restrictions as soon as feasibly possible, and that we will also look at taking every step possible to provide additional financial support for those in tier 2 lockdowns?
Of course, and in addition to providing support for hospitality—pubs—in Bishop Auckland through the JSS that I mentioned already, there is the business rate cut that my hon. Friend is familiar with and the grants that I have announced today. But the best thing, as she rightly says, is to get the virus under control so that we can lift these restrictions altogether. That is what we want to do.
We all know that rising infections will mean more restrictions, but worried staff in viable businesses in Leeds want to know that they will be looked after if they are forced to close in future. I presume that the Prime Minister can give the House an assurance that the council would be consulted before that happened, but for someone on the minimum wage who would lose a third of their income in those circumstances—by the way, the French and German schemes are more generous than those applying here—can the Prime Minister assure my constituents that they will not, under any circumstances, be evicted from their homes because they could not afford to pay the rent?
I must respectfully take issue with the right hon. Gentleman’s characterisation of the scheme, which remains internationally competitive. In France, it is 60% for some, 70% for others. In Germany, it is about the same. In Italy, they have an 80% provision, but there is a serious cap—a very low cap—-in Ireland; it is down at 60%. This is a highly competitive scheme, and it is one that I think is generous by international comparisons. On his point about evictions, nobody wants to see anybody evicted because of the hardship they have suffered because of coronavirus, and that is why we have extended the period in which landlords are prevented from conducting such evictions by a further six months.
Families across the country, in whichever of the new tiers, rely on childcare, whether formal or informal. Without it, key workers and those in the wider economy would be unable to work and many children would be unable to get to and from school. Will my right hon. Friend make sure that access to childcare, whether it is professional childcare or relatives and neighbours, remains available throughout this pandemic?
Yes, of course. My hon. Friend is totally right about the importance of childcare. We remain committed to giving 30 hours of free childcare. The crucial thing about our measures is to keep the economy moving as much as possible.
In university cities like Exeter that have a covid spike in student accommodation but not yet significant community spread, but that nevertheless inflates local figures, what is the Prime Minister’s strategy for containing those spikes in student accommodation and preventing the need for lockdowns affecting the rest of the community?
The differentiation that is often made between students and other members of the public is sometimes overdone. Students are playing a heroic role in containing the virus where they can in following the guidance and not spreading it back into their families and their home towns. I thank them very much for what they are doing and hope they continue in that way, in Exeter and elsewhere.
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s decision to reject the twin dire choices of a second national lockdown or letting the virus rip, and to take up the far more challenging and complicated path of localising our actions in particular areas. My constituency is low-incidence for the virus but the hospitality sector is hard hit, and Christmas is now in the frame. What moves might there be, going forward, to hyper-localise actions, and what support will there be for my constituents’ jobs and businesses?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right that it would be a wonderful thing if we could hyper- localise actions in the way that she suggests. Alas, the disease being what it is, we cannot reduce to too small a size the areas in which we place restrictions. The best thing that her constituents can do, and the best thing the whole country can do, to get through this as fast as possible is to follow the package of measures that we have set out. As I have said to Opposition Members, the best thing would be if cities and regions across the country came together and delivered the package that we have set out.
Last week I asked the Secretary of State for Health whether he would fund local authorities in the north-east that have put forward a proposal for local test and trace services. He said in response:
“We put an extra £10 million into the local authorities in the north-east to support contact tracing”.—[Official Report, 5 October 2020; Vol. 681, c. 634.]
Today I am told in a telephone briefing that there is no money available. Which is it, Prime Minister? Can we fund the local authorities in the north-east to provide that effective test and tracing?
I think the hon. Lady may have missed what I said. We are putting up to another £1 billion into supporting local authorities and £500 million into supporting local test and trace and enforcement.
While rightly moving to simplify the message, does my right hon. Friend agree that flexible local approaches are the best way to tackle outbreaks in order to prevent a total lockdown and minimise the wider economic impact, particularly on low-incidence-level areas such as Broadland?
That is exactly right. That is the strategy that we have been pursuing for some time now, and that is why it is necessary to intensify the restrictions in some areas.
The Prime Minister keeps telling us that test and trace provision is being increased, yet the covid-19 testing facility at Bedford’s Borough Hall has just reduced its service provision from seven to four days a week at a time when the infection rates are rising. So I have a simple question, Prime Minister: why?
I would be happy to write to the hon. Gentleman about the test centre that he mentions. As I have said, we are increasing test and trace capacity and the number of tests conducted the whole time. As I said, I will be happy to write to him about the particular case he mentions, but it is still the case that this country continues to test more people and conduct more tests than any other country in Europe.
The decision to place Cheshire in tier 2, and the additional restrictions that that will entail, will inevitably impact on families and businesses across Eddisbury, not least the already decimated wedding industry and its existing supply chain. Will my right hon. Friend look again at what further targeted support can be made available for that industry, which will struggle to remain viable through another six months of effectively being closed?
I have real sympathy for those in the wedding industry who have been affected. It is a great industry, and times are very tough for them. That is why we are putting in the jobs support scheme and extra grants for businesses. The best way forward is for us to get the virus down and get the spread down, so that we can reopen those types of businesses as fast as possible.
Many of my constituents support covid-19 public health measures, but they feel that, despite their rhetoric, the Government have not reciprocated. It is not only those 3 million who are excluded from support; there are also those on universal credit who will lose the £20 weekly top-up, those on legacy benefits who receive nothing, or those who missed out on furlough because their payroll was run one day after an arbitrary and retrospective date. The Prime Minister has boasted about putting his arms around people, but is it not time to show people that he has a heart?
I must repeat what I said earlier: by other global standards this Government have done a huge amount—£190 billion already—to support people, businesses, jobs, and livelihoods across the country. On the specific point about universal credit, we have increased its value by £1,000, and that will remain in place for the rest of this financial year.
Will my right hon. Friend join me in thanking Devon County Council and Public Health Devon for their response to the virus so far, where swathes of local actions are in place to contain local outbreaks? Does he agree that it is vital for national and local government to work together to tackle differences in the regional prevalence of this virus?
Yes. I thank my hon. Friend, and everybody in Devon, and the local authorities, for their efforts to keep the virus down. This is a giant collective effort, and alas, even in the south-west we are seeing the virus going up, although by nothing like as much as in other parts of the country. It is going up across the whole country, and we must work together to get it down.