Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has issued guidance to schools that have had residential trips cancelled as a result of the covid-19 outbreak but have been unable to obtain a refund from the company providing that trip.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department for Education continues to advise against both overnight and non overnight domestic (UK) and overseas educational visits. In the autumn term, schools can resume non-overnight domestic educational visits. All such visits should be compliant with COVID-19 guidelines and subject to a thorough and ongoing assessment of the risks to ensure that they can be undertaken safely. Schools should consult the department’s health and safety guidance on educational visits when considering any visit.
The guidance will remain under review, including the position on overnight domestic visits, and will be updated in line with guidance from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Transport and Public Health England.
Any disputes regarding travel agent or travel insurance should be resolved in line with issued contractual terms and arrangements, or by reference to the relevant regulator or national trade bodies such as the Association of British Insurers, the Association of British Travel Agents and the Association of Independent Tour Operators. Departmental guidance confirms this position.
Guidance for the full opening of schools can be found here
COVID-19 travel advice for educational settings is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-advice-for-educational-settings/coronavirus-travel-guidance-for-educational-settings
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students are in receipt of assistive (a) hardware and (b) software technology through the Disabled Students' Allowance in (i) Wirral and (ii) Wallasey.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The Student Loans Company does not distinguish between hardware and software within Disabled Student’s Allowance (DSA). These would both be grouped under the DSA equipment allowance. Therefore, it is not possible to separately identify the number of students who are in receipt of assistive hardware and assistive software technology through the DSA.
The number of students who were in receipt of assistive technology through the DSA equipment allowance in the 2018-19 academic year are:
i. 92 students whose home address is registered as Wirral; and
ii. 35 students whose home address is registered as Wallasey.
Figures are not yet available for the 2019-20 academic year.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of pupils on free school meals in Wallasey constituency during the school summer holidays in 2020.
Answered by Vicky Ford
I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave on 23 June 2020 to Question 54195.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2020 to Question 51606 on Home Education: Computers, how many (a) laptops, (b) tablets and (c) 4G wireless routers his Department has allocated to Wirral Council.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department has published information about how many laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers we have delivered or dispatched to local authorities and academy trusts: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/laptops-tablets-and-4g-wireless-routers-progress-data.
The Department is providing over 200,000 laptops and tablets to vulnerable and disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examinations in Year 10, receiving support from a social worker, including pre-school children, or are a care leaver.
Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and disadvantaged children in Year 10 do not have internet connections, we are providing 4G wireless routers.
Local authorities and academy trusts are best placed to identify and distribute the laptops and tablets to children and young people who need devices. In May, the Department invited local authorities to order devices for the most vulnerable children first - children with a social worker and care leavers.
Earlier this month, the Department started inviting academy trusts and local authorities to order their devices for disadvantaged year 10 pupils. Thousands of devices continue to be delivered each day. Laptops and tablets will continue to be ordered and delivered throughout June.