Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Feryal Clark

Wednesday 9th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to draw attention to this injustice and what is happening with leaseholders at the moment. That is why we have put £1.6 billion into removing unsafe cladding. I do not want to see leaseholders being forced to pay for the remediation, and I can assure my hon. Friend that we are looking now urgently—before the expiry of the current arrangements—at what we can do to take them forward and support leaseholders, who are in a very unfair position.

[Feryal Clark (Enfield North) (Lab)]

Is the Prime Minister aware that his Government risk failing a generation of children in my constituency of Enfield North and across the country, as analysis shows this week that only one in six pupils on free school meals—those who are most likely to fall behind their peers—will benefit from the programmes to help them catch up on learning lost as a result of covid? Does the Prime Minister agree that is simply not good enough, and can he explain why we are in this dire situation nine months on?

Covid-19: Winter Plan

Debate between Boris Johnson and Feryal Clark

Monday 23rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is totally right to support bingo halls and bowling alleys. They will be open, as he knows, in tiers 1 and 2. Alas, we cannot yet do it in tier 3, but, as I have said to the House, there is the prospect that where communities come together to get tested together, they can thereby drive down R. There is now a route out of these restrictions for communities and towns, not just through the vaccine but through mass testing.

[Feryal Clark (Enfield North) (Lab)]

Schools across Enfield North face a daily avalanche of challenges to stay open before a single class has taken place. They face mounting costs associated with enhanced cleansing regimes, procurement of laptops for virtual learning and skyrocketing bills for staff absence and supply teachers as a result of teachers having to self-isolate. What additional funding and financial support is being made available to schools to support them with those additional covid-related costs?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady is completely right about the heroic achievement of schools and teachers in keeping going. The vast majority of schools—99% or so—are open, to the best of my knowledge, and most pupils are getting the education that they need. That is one of the reasons why we have had to put pressure on other sectors, such as hospitality. We do not want to do that, but social justice means that we have to keep schools open. We have put about £1 billion into supporting catch-up funds for schools, and another £96 million is now going in for one-on-one tutorials to help kids who are in danger of falling behind.