Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 18 June 2020
Yes, but—I hate to point out the basics to Richard Leonard—we have to do the work to produce that. That is what is happening right now.
On the day we published the route map, we also published the education recovery group’s report. That plan was agreed not only with Government but with local government, teaching unions and parents organisations.
The plan that was published then is being operationalised by the work that councils are doing. We are applying scrutiny to that and, as I said yesterday, we are also working on what conditions and protections are required to get children back to school not only full time but as normal, so that they are not only getting a full-time education but are able to interact with each other as young people want to. That requires continued suppression of the virus. Therefore, we have to take the actions that we are taking now and go with the considered plan so that we drive the levels of the virus down, and then we can consider different ways of getting schools back.
Unfortunately, there are no magic wands when it comes to this virus; only a lot of really hard and detailed work will get us to where we all want to be. That is what the Government is doing. I say to Richard Leonard—but it is possibly more accurate to direct it at the other side of the chamber—that if we act in a reckless way when it comes to getting kids back to school and do not—[Interruption.] Richard Leonard has said that he wants to know what the plan is.
We need to have contingency in case the virus runs out of control again, and we also need to have a plan for if we get the virus suppressed. That is what we are dealing with. We will continue to do that hard work. However, if we end up with an outbreak of the virus in schools in October or November, Jackson Carlaw and Richard Leonard will be the first to stand up—as they have been to speak on the issues with care homes—and ask why we did not take greater care.
I will not compromise the safety of children. We will act in a way that keeps them safe and gets them back to school as quickly as possible.