Higher education (HE) providers have a legal responsibility to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of their employees, students and other people on site.<\/p>
As part of the process of opening buildings and campuses to staff and students, HE providers should produce risk assessments for both working and communal environments. These will vary significantly based on the needs and circumstances of individual providers. Risk assessments will inform the risk mitigations to ensure all areas of the institution are COVID-19 secure.<\/p>
HE providers are autonomous institutions and it is not for the government to mandate publication of these risk assessments. However, on 10 September, the department published updated guidance for providers on reopening buildings and campuses which states that providers should share their risk assessments with staff and staff unions. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses#risk-assessments<\/a>.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4530", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Michelle Donelan"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Chippenham"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Michelle Donelan"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-09-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-09-25T13:35:29.627Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2020-09-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Universities: Coronavirus"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to mandate universities to publish publicly their covid-19 risk assessments.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4382", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Daniel Zeichner"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Cambridge"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Daniel Zeichner"}
], "uin" : "91767"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1235799", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1235799/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " This summer, our £9 million Holiday Activities and Food Programme worked across 17 local authority areas, providing thousands of children with access to healthy meals and enriching activities, building on the success of the programme in 2018 and 2019.<\/p> Future policy and spending decisions will be set following completion of the current Spending Review.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4674", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Vicky Ford"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Chelmsford"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Vicky Ford"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-09-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-09-23T11:56:08.377Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2020-09-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Holiday Activities and Food Programme"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to implement a national holiday activities and food programme during the 2021 school summer holidays.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4277", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "South Shields"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck"}
], "uin" : "91763"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1235800", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1235800/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The department is investing up to £35 million into the National School Breakfast Programme. This includes our extension of the programme by a further year until March 2021, with up to £11.8 million being invested during this current financial year. Overall, this money will kick-start or improve breakfast clubs in up to 2,450 schools in disadvantaged areas, making them sustainable in the long run. Any further investment in school breakfast clubs beyond March 2021 is subject to the upcoming Spending Review.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4674", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Vicky Ford"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Chelmsford"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Vicky Ford"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-09-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-09-23T13:12:57.827Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2020-09-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Schools: Breakfast Clubs"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to continue the National School Breakfast programme beyond March 2021.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4277", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "South Shields"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck"}
], "uin" : "91764"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1235490", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1235490/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The Department has already delivered over 220,000 laptops and tablets and over 50,000 4G wireless routers to children and young people who would not otherwise have online access, as part of over £100 million invested to support remote education and access to online social care. This included devices for children aged 0 to 19 with a social worker, care leavers and disadvantaged pupils in year 10.<\/p> The Department is now supplementing this support by making available additional devices \u2013 initially 150,000 \u2013 in the event that face to face schooling is disrupted as a result of local COVID-19 restrictions and children become reliant on remote education. This scheme is intended to enable schools to support disadvantaged children in year 3 to year 11 who cannot afford their own devices. Schools will also be able to order devices for disadvantaged children across all year groups who are shielding as a result of official or medical advice, all year groups who attend hospital schools and those completing their Key Stage 4 at a further education college.<\/p> In addition to providing laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers, the Department is piloting two methods to provide internet connectivity to families with children and young people up to 16 years old. In partnership with BT, we are piloting a service to provide children and young people free access to BT Wi-Fi hotspots. Through the pilot, up to 10,000 families are able to access a BT Wi-Fi connection. We are also working with the major telecommunications companies to pilot an approach where mobile network operators are providing temporary access to free additional data, offering families more flexibility to access the resources that they need the most.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/111", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Nick Gibb"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bognor Regis and Littlehampton"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Nick Gibb"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-09-28", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-09-28T16:22:32.033Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2020-09-17", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Children: Digital Technology"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2020 to Question 81506, if he will make it his policy to extend the eligibility for technology support for 16 to 19 year olds to under-16-year olds who are not eligible for a student bursary.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/193", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dame Siobhain McDonagh"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Mitcham and Morden"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Siobhain McDonagh"}
], "uin" : "91568"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1235560", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1235560/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The department is maintaining a strong performance on its internal apprenticeship programme, having met the 2.3 per cent public sector target for the past 3 years. We are confident that we will meet this target again in 2020/21 by the end of the financial year.<\/p> We have made plans for the department to support the government\u2019s Plan for Jobs through 4 external apprentice recruitment campaigns that will close on 30 September. We are piloting a new approach to external recruitment for junior roles from 1 September to 31 December \u2013 all of these vacancies will be advertised as apprenticeships.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4680", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Gillian Keegan"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Chichester"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Gillian Keegan"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-09-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-09-24T15:36:19.44Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2020-09-17", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Department for Education: Apprentices"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress his Department is making on meeting the 2.3 per cent public sector apprenticeship target; and when his Department will meet that target.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3985", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Robert Halfon"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harlow"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Robert Halfon"}
], "uin" : "91620"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1235601", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1235601/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Keeping close track of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases in schools is a priority to the Government. The Department is currently collecting data from schools on a daily basis, as well as gathering information from local areas and following up with individual settings to confirm that procedures for requiring pupils to isolate are well understood and that necessary decisions are made on the basis of public health advice.<\/p> Testing capacity is the highest it has ever been, and we are working to provide further priority access for teachers. The home testing kits supplied to schools and colleges are only for those who develop the symptoms of COVID-19 and face significant barriers to accessing a test. In particular, these tests kits will help symptomatic staff who test negative, and are not close contacts of confirmed cases, to get back to work as soon as they feel well enough.<\/p> The Department collects data on the number of schools that have indicated that they have sent children home due to COVID-19 containment measures and have attendance data for schools that have done so. We are currently looking at the quality of the data with a view to publishing it as part of the official statistics series. The series includes published data on school openings and attendance, which shows that over 99.9% of state-funded schools were open on 10 September and that attendance in state-funded schools was 88%. More information is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak<\/a>.<\/p> Public Health England (PHE) leads in holding data on infection, incidence and COVID-19 cases overall. PHE have published data on COVID-19 incidents by institution, including educational settings, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-covid-19-surveillance-reports<\/a> (page 16).<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/111", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Nick Gibb"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bognor Regis and Littlehampton"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Nick Gibb"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-09-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "91665"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-09-22T16:29:48.853Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2020-09-17", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Education: Wirral"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) schools and (b) colleges in Wirral that are facing difficulties in keeping fully open to students as a result of delays in teachers or their family members getting covid-19 test results.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4400", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Margaret Greenwood"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Wirral West"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Margaret Greenwood"}
], "uin" : "91664"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1235602", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1235602/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Keeping close track of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases in schools is a priority to the Government. The Department is currently collecting data from schools on a daily basis, as well as gathering information from local areas and following up with individual settings to confirm that procedures for requiring pupils to isolate are well understood and that necessary decisions are made on the basis of public health advice.<\/p> Testing capacity is the highest it has ever been, and we are working to provide further priority access for teachers. The home testing kits supplied to schools and colleges are only for those who develop the symptoms of COVID-19 and face significant barriers to accessing a test. In particular, these tests kits will help symptomatic staff who test negative, and are not close contacts of confirmed cases, to get back to work as soon as they feel well enough.<\/p> The Department collects data on the number of schools that have indicated that they have sent children home due to COVID-19 containment measures and have attendance data for schools that have done so. We are currently looking at the quality of the data with a view to publishing it as part of the official statistics series. The series includes published data on school openings and attendance, which shows that over 99.9% of state-funded schools were open on 10 September and that attendance in state-funded schools was 88%. More information is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak<\/a>.<\/p>