tony bonsignore reports.o do about next yea r‘s exams? it's a question that is already testing politicians. labour's answer, delay gcses and a—levels in england until at leastjune, to make up for lost teaching time. we really feel it's important that we put young people first when planning for next year's assessments, and that means giving them as long as possible for teaching and for learning to take place, to make up for the disruption they've already suffered in the school year we've just had and while i hope there won't be disruption in the coming year, i think we've got to accept it's quite possible there may be periods when children have to be out of school again for a time. it's far too early to be saying you're going to postpone things or cancel things as the labour party seem to be saying, that's the wrong approach. what we should actually be doing at this moment, is focusing on getting schools back in the saddle, running again, so that young people can resume their education. 0fqual, which sets the

our political reporter tony bonsignore is here. what do we know? know is these allegations are againsta what we know is these allegations are against a current mp, a former minister and they were made by a former parliamentary employee. according to the sunday times, she alleges the mp assaulted her, forced her to have sex and left her so traumatised, she had to go to hospital. she is accusing him of rape, sexual assault and coercive control. we have had a statement from the metropolitan police and they say on friday the 31st ofjuly they say on friday the 31st ofjuly they received allegations relating to four separate incidents relating to four separate incidents relating to sexual offences and assault. these offences are alleged to have occurred at addresses in westminster, lambeth and hackney between july last year and january this year. a man in his 50s was arrested on saturday the ist of august on suspicion of rape. he has been released on bail to return on a date in mid august. there are reports that the conservative party chief whip, mark spe

let's cross to our political correspondent tony bonsignore who has more on this. ny, what do we know? well, obviously a limited amount we can say at the moment. let me tell you what we know so far. these allegations against a current mp and former minister according to the sunday times, these allegations made bya sunday times, these allegations made by a former parliamentary employee. the paper says she alleges the mp assaulted her, forced her to have sex, and left her so traumatised that she had to go to hospital. she is accused him of rape, sexual assault and coercive control. now, we had a statement from the metropolitan police who say on friday the 31st ofjuly they received allegations relating to macro. at incidents involving allegations of sexual offences and assault and these offences are alleged to have occurred at addresses in westminster, lambeth and hackney betweenjuly last addresses in westminster, lambeth and hackney between july last year and hackney between july last year and january this year. a man in his 50s was arrested on saturday, the 1st of au

tony bonsignore reports. year's students got theirfinal grades but what to do about next yea r‘s exams? it's a question that is already testing politicians. labour's answer, delay gcses and a—levels in england until at leastjune, to make up for lost teaching time. we really feel it's important that we put young people first when planning for next year's assessments, and that means giving them as long as possible for teaching and for learning to take place, to make up for the disruption they've already suffered in the school year we've just had and while i hope there won't be disruption in the coming year, i think we've got to accept it's quite possible there may be periods when children have to be out of school again for a time. it's far too early to be saying you're going to postpone things or cancel things as the labour party seem to be saying, that's the wrong approach. what we should actually be doing at this moment, is focusing on getting schools back in the saddle, running again, so that young people ca

our political correspondent, tony bonsignore, is here.pen letter from the education secretary to parents of school pupils in the uk. yeah, and his message is pretty clear, he says i know many of you are worried about sending your children back to school, but i assure you schools are safe. the message goes further, there is no danger if you don't send your children back to school. how is gavin williamson trying to persuade pa rents gavin williamson trying to persuade parents it is safe? two elements. the first, listen to the experts, the four chief medical officers of the four chief medical officers of the uk who all say it is safe for children to go back to school. look at the scientific evidence. he says there is a vanishingly small risk to children from coronavirus, but he also says, look at the huge protection is being put in place by schools to protect staff and pupils. for example, primary school children, being kept in specific groups, bubbles. personal protective equipment when there are outbreaks. more hygiene, cleaning, extra mon

our political correspondent tony bonsignore is here. universities go back any a three week's time, tenbig test for the government. the government is still trying to reassure parents it is absolutely safe. we have had an open letter from the education secretary today to parents. his message is this, i know some of you are worried but do not be worried, it is safe. the real danger is if peoples do not go back to school and the long—term damage in handy. he says, listen to the experts, listen to the four chief medical officers of the united kingdom, all of whom say, the risk to children is extremely low from coronavirus and all the scientific evidence backs that up. look at their work schools are doing to keep staff and children safe. for example, extra cleaning and hygiene protocols, keeping primary school children together in groups, protective equipment in case there is an outbreak. all of that should reassure parents it is safe for their back to school. it is back to school for mps as well. to rumours among tory ranks about the government not really getting a grip over the past few mo

from oslo where university classes have already started, but first, our political correspondent tony bonsignoretter in the uk from the education secretary, not about universities, but about schools, telling parents, urging them, to get kids back to school. nervousness not just among parents but among those in government as well. a few days away from millions going back to school. an open letter from the education secretary gavin williamson to parents. he says, i know some of you are worried, don't be worried. in fact, the bigger danger, he says, to the long—term health of people is as if they don't go back to school. the message goes deeper. gavin williamson is, he says, listen to the experts. he says the risk to stu d e nts the experts. he says the risk to students is very, very small. even then, look at the measured schools have taken, for example, keeping primary school pupils in groups, more cleaning, better hygiene, more protective equipment when there are outbreaks, more testing, better travel, more money for travel for those who have to travel to school and public transport. he says that

with me is our political correspondent, tony bonsignore.government again and a lot of desire from the government for people to act quickly. what are they saying? they are saying it's far too early to make the decision but they have talked about it publicly before, something gavin williamson has spoken about with the possibility of a delay if it comes to it. theyjust say we are not at that position yet. i suspect they think there is political opportunism here from labour and of course rememberfor labour, the other point is they can keep talking about what happened in august, saying today that they cannot repeat the fiasco we saw, particularly with a—level results. the story seems to be moving towards when the decision is made, so conservative saying is far too early, the labour government saying make the decision now and others saying we need to make it so it's interesting to hear today from robert halfon and this is what he had to say today about that decision. they have missed six months of learning, but i think a proper assessment needs t

we can speak now to our political correspondent tony bonsignore. good morning, tony.easonable lots of people will just be baffled ? perfectly reasonable lots of people willjust be baffled? good morning, chris. good morning, naga. yes. especially when you consider only two weeks ago the prime minister was saying we could be back to some kind of normality by christmas. this was a very different message yesterday. i think what we can take from what chris whitty, you heard saying that in package, is, number one, get ready for a new normal. but we probably aren't going to get a huge further easing of the lockdown yet. that was very clear from chris whitty. what he also said was, those decisions, he cold its trade—offs, decisions, he cold its trade—offs, decisions lie ahead, and some of them will be very political. which businesses can reopen, for example, what kind of social contact can we have, which leisure activities will be allowed. that is not going to be complicated, of course, as welcome as we go into the winter with all the extra pressures there i think there is a

our political correspondent tony bonsignore is in westminsterfor us. ing, tony, what can you tell us? good morning. the allegations made against a current mp and former minister according to the sunday times were made by a former parliamentary employee. the paper says she alleges the mp assaulted her, forced her to have sex and left are so her, forced her to have sex and left are so traumatised she had to go to hospital and she has accused him of rape, sexual assault and coercive behaviour. on friday 31st ofjuly police received allegations relating to four separate incidents involving allegations of sexual offences and assault, allegedly occurring in westminster, hackney and lambert. a man in his 50 was arrested on saturday the first of august on suspicion of rape and has been released on bail to return in mid august. the tory party chief web reportedly had been aware of allegations and had spoken to the victim. sources say mr spencer had not known if the magnitude of the allegations. he took allegations of harassment and abuse extremely seriously and a

with me is our political correspondent, tony bonsignore. tony, the pressure is on to move quickly.our instinct, despite the messages coming out from the government, about where the exams will end up happening? interesting listening to george eustice, the cabinet minister, this money, his take on it was it is far too early to take the decision at this stage but you can also see why labour are putting pressure on here. on the one hand, they are saying that if the decision has to be made, it is better it is made now, given all the implications for marking, universities, employers, and it also gives them the opportunity to keep the focus on what happened with gcse and a—level results this year. they are making the point that it was a fiasco and that should be avoided. but it is notjust labour putting the pressure on. you have got the chair of the education committee, robert halfon, saying that really, that decision by the government and by quual in particular, the exam regulator, needs to be made by october. he is pretty pessimistic, he thinks there is only a 50—50 chance of exams goin

we're joined now by our political correspondent tony bonsignore.e of you are worried but it is safer for your children to go back to school. in fa ct, children to go back to school. in fact, the real danger, he says, is if they don't go back to school now. in terms of the way they are traitors —— he is trying to persuade pa rents, traitors —— he is trying to persuade parents, there are two parts. the first one is, listen to the experts. he points to the fact that the four chief medical officer is of the united kingdom also it is right and safe for children to go back and he points to the scientific evidence —— scientific evidence as well who says there is a vanishingly small risk to children from coronavirus but even with all that, he says, look at the measures that schools are taking to protect students. for example, increased hygiene and cleaning. look at the protective equipment that is being sent to schools in case there is an outbreak. test if people, if staff or children start to display symptoms. look at the extra money for transport, he say

let's speak now to our political correspondent tony bonsignore. chances of these exams being pushed back? good morning, louise was of the honest answer is it is difficult to say was that there is a lot of uncertainty around this was obviously we have millions of people going back to school this week was the government will be looking closely to see how that pans out and also to see what happens with coronavirus, whether we have lots more local lockdowns, potentially schools being shot as well. i think the government will be very keen to make this year as smooth and as normal as possible as you heard there from helen's package, there has been disruption. there is an acknowledgement there has been a disruption. and i think what is certain is if a decision is going to be made, it has to be made relatively soon. you had the chairman of the education committee in the commons saying that decision probably need to be made by october so probably need to be made by october so within a month or so, a lot of planning ahead and if the government does do it, of

our political correspondent tony bonsignore is here.nts due to go to university and also pupils due to go back to school? millions of them and the government still trying to reassure some parents that it is safe for these children to go back. now, today we had an open letter from the education secretary gavin williamson to parents and his message was, look i know some are worried, but it is safe. he said the bigger danger is if stu d e nts safe. he said the bigger danger is if students don't back to school, because of the effect on their education. he points to do things. first he says, look what the four chief medical officers have said, they said the risk is low. he said all the science supports that. but gavin williamson said look at the work being done by schools to protect students, whether it is protecting primary children in groups, whether it is hygiene, controls, more protective equipment, all that he says should rea assure pa rents. all that he says should rea assure parents. and speaking of being nervous. some tory backbenche

tony bonsignore reports.s students got theirfinal grades but what to do about next yea r‘s exams? it's a question that is already testing politicians. labour's answer, delay gcses and a—levels in england until at leastjune, to make up for lost teaching time. we really feel it's important that we put young people first when planning for next year's assessments, and that means giving them as long as possible for teaching and for learning to take place, to make up for the disruption they've already let's leave that report a bit earlier than expected. professorjo—anne baird is director of the department for education at oxford university and is a member of 0fqual‘s standards advisory group. shejoins us from bladon in 0xfordshire. what is your view on this? clearly children have lost an awful lot of teaching time, months of teaching time, so doesn't it make sense to delay exams? i think this is a very welcome suggestion. clearly it has been a four months of teaching and learning time lost this year. it is difficul