‘Pandemic may drive students away’, MP warns

‘IT’S AN UNPRECEDENTED SITUATION’: Emma Hardy MP. Picture by Tom Arran

It’s a tense time for students and universities as a new academic year begins. In this exclusive interview, Shadow Education Minister Emma Hardy voices her fears for what lies ahead, and gives a withering assessment of the Government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Simon Bristow reports

Universities and Government should prepare for a sharp rise in student drop-out rates because of fears and restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Shadow Education Minister Emma Hardy has said.

The Hull West and Hessle MP also warned of “high levels” of graduate unemployment, and questioned whether the time students spend at university before they become liable for tuition fees should be extended.

In a wide-ranging interview, the Labour MP also:

• Called the Government’s handling of the pandemic “chaotic”

• Described its plans to break international law “utterly shocking”

• Said Covid-19 safety measures in Parliament made it harder to hold the Government to account

As almost two million students embark on a new academic year, Ms Hardy said: “One issue nobody is really talking about is the impact of the drop-out rate.

“Students moving away from home and only getting two hours face-to-face [at university each week] and the rest of the time having to isolate in their rooms; let’s be honest – it’s not going to be an enjoyable experience and they are far more likely to want to defer to next year.

“If there are spikes in an area the families might say to their child ‘Come back and go next year’.

“If it is going to be a big drop-out rate what’s going to happen next to them? Because you don’t want lots of young people with nothing to do waiting until they go to university again.”

On tuition fees liability, she said: “Students are liable for tuition fees once they have been at university for two weeks. One thing I haven’t raised yet is whether or not it would be appropriate to increase this time.

“It’s an unprecedented situation and it’s about recognising some students might want to defer and come back.”

Highlighting difficulties for those who successfully complete their studies, she said: “The other area Government have done nothing about is graduates. Everyone who graduated this year entered a really difficult labour market. Finding jobs has been increasingly challenging, internships have been removed by companies, work experience opportunities have been removed, and there’s no extra support for these graduates.

“The Kickstart programme [funding for employers to create job placements for young people] doesn’t apply to graduates. There’s a real fear there’s going to be high levels of graduate unemployment, which is going to make things difficult for next year’s graduates as well.

“If we have double the number of graduates unemployed and trying to find work it’s going to be a really difficult time. That’s going to be an area the Government have to address.”

Ms Hardy said there was “huge frustration” the Department for Education had only published updated guidance for the reopening of universities at 1.50am last Thursday.

She said: “Students are already going back and some have gone back, so this has really come very late for universities to look at, digest, and then react to.

“A SAGE report [on September 4] pointed out there could be increases in coronavirus cases in university towns, so it all feels very rushed and last-minute. They should have been talking about problems during the recess, not days before students are returning.”

CONCERNS OVER GRADUATE UNEMPLOYMENT: Emma Hardy MP. Picture by Tom Arran

Last week, Ms Hardy wrote to Universities Minister Michelle Donelan outlining some of her concerns, including calling for the availability of mass testing of students, staff, and the wider community, even if they do not have symptoms.

She told The Hull Story: “They currently don’t allow for the testing of asymptomatic students. We know the younger people are the less likely they are to display symptoms, but they could have the virus.”

She added: “One of the other issues we have been calling for is financial support for students who need to self-isolate. They are relying on part-time work and if they need to miss that for a couple of weeks that’s going to affect them.”

Last night, the Government’s Internal Market Bill, which it admits will break international law, passed its first vote in the Commons, in the face of Conservative Party unrest and concerns raised by every living former Prime Minister.

Ms Hardy said of the legislation: “It’s just utterly shocking, absolutely utterly shocking, and I think one of the examples of this was having Theresa May stand up and criticise the Government for doing it.

“This isn’t the Labour Party having a go at the Conservative Party; this is the senior former Prime Minister saying this is inappropriate to behave in this way. And John Major has come out against it as well. I think we have seen some resignations from Government as well.

“This isn’t about Brexit or Remain – that’s dead and gone – this is about what reputation we want to have as a country – how do we want other countries to look at us.

“Most people are quite proud we are seen as very dependable and reliable. That reputation gives us soft power. They see us as a country that does what it says it’s going to do. It plays with a straight bat.”

She described what was being proposed as a “huge risk”, and said: “In January we’ll have left the transition arrangement and will need new deals all over the world – people want to know we are a country that can be relied upon and depended upon.

“If our reputation has been trashed they are less likely to do a deal with us. If you go into a shop and they have lied about the things they are selling, you won’t go back.

“The damage to a reputation is really hard to rebuild and he [Boris Johnson] risks damaging our reputation. I think he needs to pause and just think about what the implications of his actions are.”

On the issue of trust, Ms Hardy said the Government had been facing an uphill battle since the Dominic Cummings affair.

She said: “There needs to be a recognition when someone is perceived to have broken the rules, whether or not looking at each individual letter [of the law], then that damages trust. You lead by example and you need to set an example.

“Nobody expects the Government to get everything right, but what they do expect is the Government to follow the rules they set. The Dominic Cummings incident really undermined that trust that people have.”

‘THE DOMINIC CUMMINGS INCIDENT UNDERMINED TRUST’: Emma Hardy MP. Picture by Tom Arran

Earlier this month, questions were raised about whether Boris Johnson had broken his own social distancing rules after reportedly addressing a packed meeting of about 50 Tory MPs - on the day Downing Street said gatherings of more then 30 people were illegal.

“If it’s true it’s just so irresponsible,” Ms Hardy said. “I think this Government do need to recognise, and as quickly as possible, that all of the rules apply to them. I fear they don’t appreciate that rules they set, just because they set them, doesn’t mean they are exempt from abiding by them.”

Ms Hardy also said it was wrong for Ministers to blame the public for any rise in infections as messaging on what was allowed had become so confused people “genuinely don’t know the rules”.

She said: “We have just finished August when we had the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which was a huge success – lots of people socialising, and then the Government have come out and criticised people for going out socialising and mixing with others. They have just spent a summer telling us to do that.

“Only a couple of weeks ago they were telling us ‘Get back to work and do your job’. People genuinely don’t know the rules. I think the vast majority of the population want to do the right thing but I think they unfortunately don’t always understand it.

“I think it’s really unfair if the Government blame the public for the rise in cases. I literally don’t think people understand what the rules are any more. It’s just chaos.”

The MP said safety measures in Parliament - while “totally understandable” - had made it harder to hold the Government to account.

One of these had been the closure of Westminster Hall as a debating chamber for specific, local issues less likely to get an airing in the Commons. The other was Ministers being given advance warning of urgent questions in the Commons.

Ms Hardy said: “The safety mechanisms in Parliament make it harder to be spontaneous, which I totally understand. If there’s an urgent question, we have to have agreed it the day before through a list of who’s going to speak in what order – there are some limits on spontaneity.

“In the past, if there was an incident in Hull West and Hessle, a bad accident,  I could have gone to the Speaker’s Office and said there’s been this incident, would you call me to ask a question to Government, and ordinarily I’d be able to speak in Parliament about it that day.

“Because of Covid-19 you lose that spontaneity; you have to wait a day. It’s important to keep everyone safe but there’s some cost. I understand it, but if I’m being honest it makes it easier for the Government and harder for the Opposition.”