I'd like to put on record my thanks to the education sector for the hard work that they've done in keeping schools as safe as possible. I wrote to headteachers and college leaders just yesterday, recognising the work that they have been doing. I acknowledge, as I did in my response to the previous question, that the recent times have been very challenging indeed, with numbers increasing. The interests and well-being of our young people are at the heart of every decision I take as Minister and the decisions that our Government takes. In the letter I wrote yesterday, I explained the current situation and the steps that we are taking—for example, the vaccination plan for those between 12 and 15 is to commence next week. We are continuing to monitor the situation in terms of the advice that we provide, of course, and I do understand that there are concerns about some of the regulations currently in place, and we are looking at means of communicating that more effectively so that people understand what the rules and regulations are and what the rationale behind those is. That's also important.

We have confirmed that the fund continues to support supply teachers in this period, that the carbon dioxide monitors are starting to arrive in schools, or will be arriving next week, and we'll also look at what else we can do to support the test and trace system to ensure that they do their very best too. We have heard from parents and teachers about special schools and pupils with particular medical needs, and there will be further advice in those two areas issued very soon too. I'd also like to say that the context, of course, is challenging for headteachers and teachers looking at how they deal with staffing challenges, and looking at the impact that has on timetables and so on. So, I am fully aware that these decisions are challenging at the moment.

We have seen in the figures published at the beginning of this week that the case rates in children under the age of nine and under the age of 19 have reduced in the past week. That is an early signal, but I hope that it's a hopeful signal for us too.