1. Will the Minister make a statement on the plans for the return of students to Welsh universities in the new year? OQ55924

Thank you, Andrew. The Welsh Government is reviewing the regulations and guidance in relation to travel around the Christmas period and beyond as we continue to monitor transmission rates within Wales. It is too early to confirm any arrangements that will apply in respect of universities in the new year.  

Thank you, Minister, for that reply. I appreciate universities are independent institutions, but, obviously, there was a big movement of students at the start of the academic year in September, and this will be the second opportunity for such a movement of students to be replicated, not just in Wales, but from across the United Kingdom and, indeed, international students. I heard what you said—you believe it's too early to come out with anything concrete at the moment—but can you identify any emerging themes that might need to be put in place to welcome students back in January, in particular around pastoral care? Obviously, we know that the January return does tend to have pressure points of students returning back in normal circumstances, but with the exceptionality that students face at the moment, the pastoral care of students is going to be of critical importance, and the work that Government can do to support universities, via public health et cetera, will be of critical importance, I would suggest.

Thank you, Andrew. You asked about emerging themes; clearly, I'm determined to minimise disruption to students' education, but, obviously, we need to monitor that as part of the overall Government public health response to the pandemic. We’re working very closely with our universities and our student union bodies, and many of the elements that will allow students to return home for Christmas are important elements of our planning for a return in the new year, such as staggered leaving dates for students leaving campus. Obviously, a staggered return is something that we're looking at, and the crucial role of lateral flow testing. All universities in Wales are talking part in the pilot for lateral flow testing. Clearly, we want to learn the lessons from that pilot. That testing will continue to operate into the new year, and will, therefore, aid with any plans to return students safely to campus.

Minister, can I commend the work that's been done in the University of South Wales, not only in terms of the innovation of the development of testing equipment that may well have commercial viability in the early new year and make a difference, but also the way in which the university has developed pastoral support for the students, certainly in the town of Pontypridd, and in Treforest, where the university is based? Following on from the last question, obviously, there have been major challenges in terms of the testing of students as they return home, and one of the concerns and one of the issues is, as students do return, and with lots of part-time students and lots of foreign students, the ability to test and to maintain control to contain the COVID pandemic, which will still be with us, is still there. What sort of measures will be in place, what conversations are taking place with, for example, the University of South Wales and other universities, and are there any funding implications that would actually assist universities to enable this to happen for the benefit of all?

Thank you, Mick. I would like, indeed, to put on record my thanks to universities—the University of South Wales and, indeed, all our institutions of higher education—that have worked incredibly hard over the start of this academic year to maintain quality educational experiences, to look after the welfare of their students, and to play their part in managing public health risk in the middle of a global pandemic. And I'd like to thank the students themselves, who are doing their bit to follow the rules, keeping themselves and their friends safe. We are seeing the virus incidence rates decline in most of our universities, which is very welcome and we hope that that trend will continue. We're working very closely with our vice-chancellors; indeed, I met with them all at the beginning of this week to reflect on the experiences to date and to make sure that measures are in place to see a successful end to this term and to begin to plan for a safe return in January. And clearly, we're also working with colleagues in other parts of United Kingdom, given the fact that many of our students travel in and out of Wales to England, to Scotland and to Northern Ireland. Where at all possible, we are seeking to have a common approach to managing that process.