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These initiatives were driven by Baroness Morgan of Huyton, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Baroness Morgan of Huyton has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Baroness Morgan of Huyton has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
I refer the noble Baroness to the answer I have given her today to Question HL14523.
The challenging financial situation we face due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a temporary reduction in the UK’s aid spending target from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. This means making difficult decisions when it comes to prioritising how we spend aid money to deliver the most impactful outcomes.
The Government recognises the importance of supporting international research partnerships, and supporting the UK research sector. Our commitment to research and innovation has been clearly demonstrated by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget announcement of increasing investment in R&D across government to £14.6bn in 2021/22, and as has been set out in our Integrated Review ambitions, international collaboration is central to a healthy and productive R&D sector.
We are currently working with UKRI, and all our Global Challenges Research Fund and Newton Fund Delivery Partners, to manage the financial year 2021/22 ODA allocations. UKRI have written this week to many GCRF award holders setting out the next stage of the review of ODA funding next year, and to explore options for individual programmes (full details have been published on the UKRI website). Until that work is complete, it will not be possible to give an accurate picture of the likely impact for individual GCRF programmes.
The challenging financial situation we face due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a temporary reduction in the UK’s aid spending target from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. This means making difficult decisions when it comes to prioritising how we spend aid money to deliver the most impactful outcomes.
The Government recognises the importance of supporting international research partnerships, and supporting the UK research sector. Our commitment to research and innovation has been clearly demonstrated by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget announcement of increasing investment in R&D across government to £14.6bn in 2021/22, and as has been set out in our Integrated Review ambitions, international collaboration is central to a healthy and productive R&D sector.
We are currently working with UKRI, and all our Global Challenges Research Fund and Newton Fund Delivery Partners, to manage the financial year 2021/22 ODA allocations. UKRI have written this week to many GCRF award holders setting out the next stage of the review of ODA funding next year, and to explore options for individual programmes (full details have been published on the UKRI website). Until that work is complete, it will not be possible to give an accurate picture of the likely impact for individual GCRF programmes.
I am pleased that the UK reached an agreement to take part in the Horizon Europe programme. Association to Horizon has been welcomed by businesses and the research community and will bring huge benefits to the UK. We are continuing to work through the details of the costs for Horizon Europe. We will set out our plans for R&D spend in 2021/22 – including funding for Horizon Europe – in due course.
Ensuring that vulnerable children and young people, including young carers, are protected and supported is a top priority for this government. That is why we have included young carers as a target group for our new See, Hear, Respond service. It will provide a range of support, including online counselling or therapy, and will help identify children who would most benefit from extra support so that they can reintegrate into school in September. In addition, the government will shortly be publishing advice for young people with caring responsibilities, which will include information and guidance on how and where they can get help and support, including for those who cannot currently attend school.
We are committed to ensuring that any pupil who cannot yet return to school continues to learn at home. Schools know their pupils best, including those with caring responsibilities, and we have been clear that school leaders should use their resources, particularly pupil premium funding, to support pupils who have particular needs because of their home circumstances. This will include young carers and pupils who have a social worker. We are working with a range of partners, including the Education Endowment Foundation, to explore how schools can best help their disadvantaged pupils to make up lost ground. Our latest guidance on remote education during the COVID-19 outbreak is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19.
The government has committed over £100 million to support children to access remote education, including by providing laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers. We have ordered laptops and tablets for children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examination in year 10, those receiving support from a social worker or are a care leaver. We are providing over 50,000 4G wireless routers to disadvantaged children with a social worker in secondary school, care leavers and children in year 10 who do not have access to a suitable internet connection through other means. We are also ensuring every school that needs it has access to free, expert technical support to get set up on Google for Education or Microsoft’s Office 365 Education. We are offering peer support through the EdTech Demonstrator schools programme – with leading schools and colleges helping others to make the best use of available technology to teach pupils remotely.
The department is continuing to assess the potential impact of school closure on children and young people’s mental health and attainment. We are working closely with schools and colleges, sector organisations, the Department for Health and Social Care, NHS England and Public Health England to understand the risks to academic attainment, mental health and wellbeing and identify the children and young people that may need support.
The closest matching available data on the attendance of vulnerable children in educational establishments since 23 March was published on Tuesday 16 June at the following link and covers data up to Thursday 11 June:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings.
The data is collected from individual education establishments and the published figures include estimates for non-response.
We do not currently hold attendance statistics for the number of pupils who are classed as disadvantaged.
The attendance of children with an education, health and care plan should be based on an individual risk assessment, carried out and regularly reviewed to judge whether they are best supported at school or at home at this time. Attendance may not be appropriate for some children, including because of health considerations for them and their family. Full guidance on the definition of vulnerable children and expectations around attendance is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people.
Due to the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 outbreak, we know there is increased pressure on household budgets, and we recognise families will face particular challenges over the coming months. That is why we are providing additional funding for the Covid Summer Food Fund which will enable children who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals to be supported over the school holiday period. We will publish guidance shortly.
The Holiday Activities and Food scheme are integral to our approach to provide support to children over the summer. It will ensure thousands of disadvantaged children have access to healthy meals and holiday activities in summer 2020, building on the success of the 2018 and 2019 programmes. We remain committed to supporting children and families through the disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
This government will always put the care and safety of vulnerable children first, especially at this time as they face unique challenges due to COVID-19. The £12 million package announced in April will support vulnerable children most at risk of neglect, violence or exploitation during the COVID-19 outbreak.
More than £7 million will also fund the launch of the See, Hear, Respond service, to provide targeted help to vulnerable children, young people and their families affected by COVID-19 and the measures put in place to stop its spread. The coalition, led by Barnardo’s, will work alongside local authorities, schools and colleges, police forces, healthcare professionals and other vital services involved in protecting these children.
So far, we have committed over £100 million to support remote education. As plans continue for a full return to education from September, we have announced a £1 billion COVID-19 “catch-up” package to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching time.
£650 million will be shared across state primary and secondary schools over the 2020/21 academic year. This one-off grant to support pupils recognises that all young people have lost time in education as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, regardless of their income or background.
Whilst school leaders will decide how it is used, the intention is that this money will be spent on the most effective interventions. On 19 June the Education Endowment Foundation published a guide to help school leaders and staff decide how to use this universal funding to best support their pupils, which is available here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Publications/Covid-19_Resources/Covid-19_support_guide_for_schools.pdf
Separately, a National Tutoring Programme, worth £350 million, will increase access to high-quality tuition for the most disadvantaged young people. This will help accelerate their academic progress and tackle the attainment gap between them and their peers.
This £1 billion package is on top of the £14.4 billion three-year funding settlement announced last year - recognising the additional work schools will need to do to help students to catch up.
We will do whatever we can to ensure no child, whatever their background or location, falls behind as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. So far, we have committed over £100 million to support remote education. We are providing laptops and tablets to vulnerable and disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examinations in year 10, and to those receiving support from a social worker, including pre-school children, or and are a care leavers. Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and disadvantaged children in year 10 do not have internet connections, we will be providing 4G wireless routers to them so that they can learn at home. We are also ensuring every school that needs it has access to free, expert technical support to get set up on Google for Education or Microsoft’s Office 365 Education, and offering peer support through the EdTech Demonstrator schools programme - with leading schools and colleges helping others to make the best use of available technology to teach pupils remotely.
As plans continue for a full return to education from September, we have announced a £1 billion COVD-19 “catch-up” package to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching time.
£650 million will be shared across state primary and secondary schools over the 2020/21 academic year. This one-off grant to support pupils recognises that all young people have lost time in education as a result of the pandemic, regardless of their income or background.
Whilst school leaders will decide how it is used, the intention is that this money will be spent on the most effective interventions. On 19 June the Education Endowment Foundation published a guide to help school leaders and staff decide how to use this universal funding to best support their pupils, which is available here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Publications/Covid-19_Resources/Covid-19_support_guide_for_schools.pdf.
Separately, a National Tutoring Programme, worth £350 million, will increase access to high-quality tuition for the most disadvantaged young people. This will help accelerate their academic progress and tackle the attainment gap between them and their peers.
As well as announcing the biggest funding increase for schools in a decade, raising current levels by £14.4 billion over the next three years, we continue to pay schools quarterly additional funding worth £2.4 billion through the pupil premium to help them support their disadvantaged pupils. Since April 2020, pupil premium per-pupil rates are the highest ever.
The Government has provided over £2 billion in funding for the Household Support Fund since October 2021.
The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, and the government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.
No such assessment has been made as domestic and international students are treated in the same way as any other individual. All those testing positive must self-isolate, regardless of vaccination status or where they were vaccinated. Those fully vaccinated in the United Kingdom are exempt from self-isolation if identified as a close contact. Those vaccinated abroad, are required to self-isolate if identified as a close contact.
Those who are fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved for use in and administered in the United Kingdom are not required to self-isolate if they are a contact of a positive case. Those under the age of 18 years and six months old are also not required to self-isolate if they are a contact of a positive case, which also applies to international students. Adults who have not been fully vaccinated in the UK, are legally required to self-isolate if they are the contact of a positive case. This continues to be kept under review, taking into account clinical judgement on risk and the prevalence of COVID within the UK and overseas.
The Government has published Contingency framework: education and childcare settings which provides detailed procedures and the principles for managing local outbreaks of COVID-19 in all education settings, including guidance to universities to support all incoming students with self-isolation rules. A copy of this guidance is attached.
The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Public hearings, including those that are partly remote hearings, continue to take place in open court rooms, and access to observe these is via the public gallery. Special arrangements have been put in place to ensure physical access to jury trials for the media and members of the public, who have been able to attend court throughout the pandemic, if safe to do so. In order to allow appropriate social distancing to be maintained at all times, a second courtroom linked by closed circuit TV may be provided to enable the media and others to watch proceedings.
Open justice is a fundamental principle in our courts and tribunals system and will continue to be so as we increase the use of audio and video technology.
Since the introduction of the Coronavirus Act, any hearing participant or member of the public may, with the permission of the judge, join a hearing remotely from outside the court estate, using an internet enabled device to access the Cloud Video Platform.