Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect on covid transmission in areas where the local Director of Public Health has introduced extra measures in line with the contingency framework, including isolation of under 16s whose siblings have tested positive for covid-19.

The department’s priority is to maximise the number of children and young people in face-to-face education or childcare and minimise any disruption, in a way that best manages the COVID-19 risk.

Whilst the Directors of Public Health have discretion over local public health measures within a national framework, the advice in the contingency framework does not reverse the national policy for self-isolation which changed on 16 August. Unless they test positive, fully vaccinated adults, children and young people aged under 18 years and 6 months are not required to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of a positive case of COVID-19. The contingency framework provides guidance on the following measures: testing, face coverings, shielding, attendance restrictions as well as educational visits and events.

The department is monitoring measures in regions and continually seeking to improve its understanding of their effectiveness. Current data which is publicly available on case rates is broken down by region. Attendance data for nurseries and schools is also available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.