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1402397

registered interest
date	12/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Teachers: Absenteeism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the level of teacher absence (a) for any reason and (b) for reasons related to covid-19 by (i) region, (ii) upper tier local authority, (iii) lower tier local authority and (iv) parliamentary constituency in each of the last 100 weeks for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	102596
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2022 answer text <p>The department has published data on teacher absence for any reason and for reasons related to COVID-19 since the start of the academic year. This can be found on Explore Education Statistics. The lowest geographical level the data is split to is local authority level. We do not publish data at parliamentary constituency level.</p><p>The most recent published data at national level is 6 January 2022. For regional and local authority level data, the latest published data is 16 December 2021. The most recent national, regional and local authority data can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-23-march-2020-to-6-january-2022" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-23-march-2020-to-6-january-2022</a>.</p><p>The department also collects data on teacher absences in the annual school workforce census. To reduce burden on schools and local authorities during the COVID-19 outbreak, data on absences was not collected in 2020. Therefore, the latest data collected through the census is from 2019 and can be found here: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2019" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2019</a>. Absence data was collected in the November 2021 school workforce census and will be published in the next national statistic release later this year.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 17/01/2022 12:45:42 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1402400

registered interest
date	12/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Absenteeism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish data on the level of absence by children from schools for (a) any reason, (b) any reason of illness, including reasons related to covid-19 and (c) reasons related to covid-19 by (i) region, (ii) upper tier local authority, (iii) lower tier local authority and (iv) parliamentary constituency in each of the last 100 weeks for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	102598
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2022 answer text <p>The department publishes a fortnightly COVID-19 attendance publication based on the educational settings status form. This data is intended to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the number of pupils attending school. In this collection we do not collect the total number of students absent from school due to any reason of illness.</p><p>Data on pupil absence due to COVID-19 since the start of the 2021/22 academic year can be found on Explore Education Statistics. This data is published at local authority level. We do not publish data at parliamentary constituency level.</p><p>The most recent published data at national level is 6 January. For regional and local authority level data, the latest published data is 16 December. The most recent national, regional and local authority data can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-23-march-2020-to-6-january-2022" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-23-march-2020-to-6-january-2022</a>.</p><p>We also publish more detailed termly data on pupil absence as part of the school census (including absence rates where pupils are ill, including COVID-19). The latest publication can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england-autumn-2020-and-spring-2021" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england-autumn-2020-and-spring-2021</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 17/01/2022 12:59:53 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1402402

registered interest
date	12/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Air Conditioning
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2022 to 94337 on Schools: Air Conditioning, whether Ministers made any request to civil servants overseeing procurement for the filtration device marketplace as to (a) companies and (b) devices to be (i) included in and (ii) excluded from that process.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	102599
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2022 answer text <p>There were no requests received from ministers in the procurement process and establishment of the online marketplace. Air cleaning devices that met the approved technical specification were included on the marketplace, and devices were only excluded if they failed to meet the technical specification. All the suppliers’ bids were subject to independent expert scrutiny to maintain objectivity and conformance to the specification.</p><p> </p><p>The department’s specification was developed through a rigorous consultation with industry-wide experts in both air cleaning and ventilation from academia, professional bodies, and industry, including chartered engineers, scientists, and several government departments. Through this consultation the department has developed a specification specific to education, focusing on key drivers including classroom size, acoustics, clean air delivery and filtration as well as requiring strong evidence to verify manufacturers' claims.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 17/01/2022 12:51:05 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1402417

registered interest
date	12/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Absenteeism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has issued new guidance to schools on (a) coding and (b) recording a child's absence from school subsequent to a positive test for covid-19 since 1 December 2021.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	102605
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2022 answer text <p>‘Addendum: recording absence relating to coronavirus (COVID-19) during the 2021 to 2022 academic year’ was last updated on 6 January 2022 to reflect the changes on when a PCR test is needed and how this is recorded. The guidance is available to view here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-attendance/addendum-recording-attendance-in-relation-to-coronavirus-covid-19-during-the-2021-to-2022-academic-year" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-attendance/addendum-recording-attendance-in-relation-to-coronavirus-covid-19-during-the-2021-to-2022-academic-year</a>.</p><p>We have advised schools throughout the COVID-19 outbreak to record pupils as Code I ‘illness’ where they have tested positive for COVID-19 because they have an infectious illness. This is in line with how schools would usually record absence because of infectious illness.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 17/01/2022 13:09:40 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1401285

registered interest
date	10/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2022 to Question 94344 on Schools: Coronavirus, on what date between 1 March 2020 and April 2021 officials from his Department first had discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care on the use of ventilation technology in school classrooms to reduce the transmission of covid-19.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	100514
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2022 answer text <p>Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the department has emphasised the importance of ventilation and provided guidance to schools, colleges and nurseries on ventilation requirements, including on how to use CO2 monitors effectively to identify areas where ventilation can be improved. This includes comprehensive advice on how settings can improve ventilation from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Where readings are consistently higher than 1500 parts per million (ppm) CO2 concentration in an occupied space, schools, colleges and nurseries should take action to improve ventilation. HSE provides more information on this here: <a href="https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation/identifying-poorly-ventilated-areas.htm" target="_blank">https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation/identifying-poorly-ventilated-areas.htm</a>. This will be indicated by a red light on the CO2 monitors supplied by the department. This does not mean that you need to stop using the room. It is the responsibility of schools, colleges and nurseries to decide on the use of affected rooms in accordance with their risk assessment procedures and obligations under health and safety law. For further information please refer to our guidance available on our ventilation document sharing platform: <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12cU_I5q0v1_my97yPMpb87RsSL5d5lpj" target="_blank">https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12cU_I5q0v1_my97yPMpb87RsSL5d5lpj</a>.</p><p>All CO2 monitors units provided by the department have met an approved technical specification. The department’s technical specification used to assess the units was developed in consultation with industry wide experts in ventilation, including chartered engineers, scientists and several government departments. The technical specification has been published along with the contract on Contracts Finder in line with the government’s transparency agenda. Further details of the models of CO2 monitors issued to schools can be found here: <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12cU_I5q0v1_my97yPMpb87RsSL5d5lpj" target="_blank">https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12cU_I5q0v1_my97yPMpb87RsSL5d5lpj</a>. If schools, colleges or nurseries have any technical queries regarding their CO2 monitors they should contact the supplier of their device.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker grouped question UIN 100522 100523 question first answered 13/01/2022 17:29:46 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1401286

registered interest
date	10/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Air Conditioning
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2022 to Question 94337 on Schools: Air Conditioning, what steps he took to engage with existing British manufacturers of potentially suitable devices to (a) benefit from their operational experience of fitting and deploying similar technologies and (b) encourage them to produce suitable devices in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	100515
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2022 answer text <p>The department’s technical specification was created following significant participation and input from leading (UK) cross-industry and cross-governmental experts, including the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, in addition to engagement from manufacturers in this process.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the procurement and selection process, suppliers on the Crown Commercial Services Framework RM6157 Lot 3 were assessed on multiple criteria which included their conformance to the technical specification, as well as their ability to satisfy the delivery timescales at the volumes required by the department. The volume required was significantly higher than stock available in the UK so not all manufacturers could meet either the technical threshold of the specification, the volumes, or the delivery timescales, or all 3.</p><p> </p><p>To increase the selection of products available on the marketplace for schools, colleges and universities, we are continuing to work with suppliers and manufacturers within their supply chain both in the UK and wider to ensure that their products conform with the department’s technical specification.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 18/01/2022 12:50:34 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1401293

registered interest
date	10/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Ventilation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Health and Safety Executive about the suitability of 1500 ppm of carbon dioxide as the threshold for funded Government interventions and the carbon dioxide monitors his Department issued to schools in autumn 2021; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	100522
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2022 answer text <p>Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the department has emphasised the importance of ventilation and provided guidance to schools, colleges and nurseries on ventilation requirements, including on how to use CO2 monitors effectively to identify areas where ventilation can be improved. This includes comprehensive advice on how settings can improve ventilation from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Where readings are consistently higher than 1500 parts per million (ppm) CO2 concentration in an occupied space, schools, colleges and nurseries should take action to improve ventilation. HSE provides more information on this here: <a href="https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation/identifying-poorly-ventilated-areas.htm" target="_blank">https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation/identifying-poorly-ventilated-areas.htm</a>. This will be indicated by a red light on the CO2 monitors supplied by the department. This does not mean that you need to stop using the room. It is the responsibility of schools, colleges and nurseries to decide on the use of affected rooms in accordance with their risk assessment procedures and obligations under health and safety law. For further information please refer to our guidance available on our ventilation document sharing platform: <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12cU_I5q0v1_my97yPMpb87RsSL5d5lpj" target="_blank">https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12cU_I5q0v1_my97yPMpb87RsSL5d5lpj</a>.</p><p>All CO2 monitors units provided by the department have met an approved technical specification. The department’s technical specification used to assess the units was developed in consultation with industry wide experts in ventilation, including chartered engineers, scientists and several government departments. The technical specification has been published along with the contract on Contracts Finder in line with the government’s transparency agenda. Further details of the models of CO2 monitors issued to schools can be found here: <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12cU_I5q0v1_my97yPMpb87RsSL5d5lpj" target="_blank">https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12cU_I5q0v1_my97yPMpb87RsSL5d5lpj</a>. If schools, colleges or nurseries have any technical queries regarding their CO2 monitors they should contact the supplier of their device.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker grouped question UIN 100514 100523 question first answered 13/01/2022 17:29:46 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1401294

registered interest
date	10/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Ventilation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which models of carbon dioxide monitors issued to schools in the autumn term of 2021 were procured by his Department; what technical standards and specifications those monitors were required to meet; and if he will publish those technical standards and specifications.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	100523
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2022 answer text <p>Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the department has emphasised the importance of ventilation and provided guidance to schools, colleges and nurseries on ventilation requirements, including on how to use CO2 monitors effectively to identify areas where ventilation can be improved. This includes comprehensive advice on how settings can improve ventilation from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Where readings are consistently higher than 1500 parts per million (ppm) CO2 concentration in an occupied space, schools, colleges and nurseries should take action to improve ventilation. HSE provides more information on this here: <a href="https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation/identifying-poorly-ventilated-areas.htm" target="_blank">https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation/identifying-poorly-ventilated-areas.htm</a>. This will be indicated by a red light on the CO2 monitors supplied by the department. This does not mean that you need to stop using the room. It is the responsibility of schools, colleges and nurseries to decide on the use of affected rooms in accordance with their risk assessment procedures and obligations under health and safety law. For further information please refer to our guidance available on our ventilation document sharing platform: <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12cU_I5q0v1_my97yPMpb87RsSL5d5lpj" target="_blank">https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12cU_I5q0v1_my97yPMpb87RsSL5d5lpj</a>.</p><p>All CO2 monitors units provided by the department have met an approved technical specification. The department’s technical specification used to assess the units was developed in consultation with industry wide experts in ventilation, including chartered engineers, scientists and several government departments. The technical specification has been published along with the contract on Contracts Finder in line with the government’s transparency agenda. Further details of the models of CO2 monitors issued to schools can be found here: <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12cU_I5q0v1_my97yPMpb87RsSL5d5lpj" target="_blank">https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12cU_I5q0v1_my97yPMpb87RsSL5d5lpj</a>. If schools, colleges or nurseries have any technical queries regarding their CO2 monitors they should contact the supplier of their device.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker grouped question UIN 100514 100522 question first answered 13/01/2022 17:29:46 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1401310

registered interest
date	10/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Ventilation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he informed schools that five consecutive days of carbon dioxide monitor readings from a particular classroom would be needed, or be likely to be needed, in order for his Department to consider further ventilation support.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	100671
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2022 answer text <p>The department has now delivered over 353,000 CO2 monitors to over 99% of eligible maintained schools, further education colleges, and the majority of early years providers. Special schools and alternative provision (AP) education providers were prioritised, given their higher than average number of vulnerable pupils. Deliveries to these providers are now complete. Final deliveries to providers will be made shortly. Schools are finding the monitors helpful to manage ventilation and, in the majority of providers, existing ventilation measures are sufficient.</p><p>CO2 monitors are an additional measure that we have rolled out to education settings to be used as a guide for where ventilation can be improved. It is up to school leaders to decide how to best use them in their specific school, college or nursery.</p><p>The department is also making up to 8,000 air cleaning units available for poorly ventilated teaching spaces in state-funded education providers, where quick fixes to improve ventilation are not possible. Deliveries will start from this week to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and AP schools, colleges and nurseries. These were allocated in the first application round announced in November 2021.</p><p>The second round of applications is open until 9am on 17 January 2022. All state funded schools, colleges and nurseries can apply. Special and AP providers that were not successful or did not apply in the first round are also eligible to apply in this round. Once applications have closed, all applications will be assessed against strict criteria and allocated to providers based on need. Schools, colleges and nurseries with successful applications will be contacted individually to arrange delivery, with deliveries expected from February 2022.</p><p>For those providers that are not eligible for funded units, the online marketplace provides a route to purchasing air cleaning units directly from suppliers at a suitable specification and competitive price. Further information is available here: <a href="https://s107t01-webapp-v2-01.azurewebsites.net/list/air-cleaning" target="_blank">https://s107t01-webapp-v2-01.azurewebsites.net/list/air-cleaning</a>.</p><p>Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, we have emphasised the importance of ventilation and provided guidance to providers on ventilation requirements, including on how to use CO2 monitors effectively to identify areas where ventilation can be improved. In addition to our existing guidance on ventilation we have provided settings with guidance on how to use the air cleaning units as well as how to order a unit via the marketplace. The application process has been communicated to settings via our Daily Bulletin and we continue to support settings with their queries via the department's Coronavirus helpline.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker grouped question UIN 100672 100673 question first answered 14/01/2022 11:47:37 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1401311

registered interest
date	10/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Ventilation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will place information in the Library on (a) how many carbon dioxide monitors were sent to each school in England in the autumn term of 2021 and (b) the dates on which those monitors were received.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	100672
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2022 answer text <p>The department has now delivered over 353,000 CO2 monitors to over 99% of eligible maintained schools, further education colleges, and the majority of early years providers. Special schools and alternative provision (AP) education providers were prioritised, given their higher than average number of vulnerable pupils. Deliveries to these providers are now complete. Final deliveries to providers will be made shortly. Schools are finding the monitors helpful to manage ventilation and, in the majority of providers, existing ventilation measures are sufficient.</p><p>CO2 monitors are an additional measure that we have rolled out to education settings to be used as a guide for where ventilation can be improved. It is up to school leaders to decide how to best use them in their specific school, college or nursery.</p><p>The department is also making up to 8,000 air cleaning units available for poorly ventilated teaching spaces in state-funded education providers, where quick fixes to improve ventilation are not possible. Deliveries will start from this week to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and AP schools, colleges and nurseries. These were allocated in the first application round announced in November 2021.</p><p>The second round of applications is open until 9am on 17 January 2022. All state funded schools, colleges and nurseries can apply. Special and AP providers that were not successful or did not apply in the first round are also eligible to apply in this round. Once applications have closed, all applications will be assessed against strict criteria and allocated to providers based on need. Schools, colleges and nurseries with successful applications will be contacted individually to arrange delivery, with deliveries expected from February 2022.</p><p>For those providers that are not eligible for funded units, the online marketplace provides a route to purchasing air cleaning units directly from suppliers at a suitable specification and competitive price. Further information is available here: <a href="https://s107t01-webapp-v2-01.azurewebsites.net/list/air-cleaning" target="_blank">https://s107t01-webapp-v2-01.azurewebsites.net/list/air-cleaning</a>.</p><p>Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, we have emphasised the importance of ventilation and provided guidance to providers on ventilation requirements, including on how to use CO2 monitors effectively to identify areas where ventilation can be improved. In addition to our existing guidance on ventilation we have provided settings with guidance on how to use the air cleaning units as well as how to order a unit via the marketplace. The application process has been communicated to settings via our Daily Bulletin and we continue to support settings with their queries via the department's Coronavirus helpline.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker grouped question UIN 100671 100673 question first answered 14/01/2022 11:47:37 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan