• Liberal Democrats call on PM to sack Gavin Williamson for “slow-motion car crash” on exams
• Rise in depression demands urgent action
• Decision to scrap PHE shows Government has got its priorities “all wrong”

Liberal Democrats call on PM to sack Gavin Williamson for “slow-motion car crash” on exams

The Liberal Democrats have called on Boris Johnson to sack Gavin Williamson, criticising attempts to pass the buck onto Ofqual for the exams grading fiasco.

In a letter to Boris Johnson, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Layla Moran has called on the Prime Minister to personally apologise to students and warned that the Government’s failure to take responsibility risks further eroding public trust in the exams system.

She accuses the Education Secretary of presiding over a “slow-motion car crash,” listing a number of catastrophic errors including failing to issue guidance for universities and ignoring warnings that a calculated grades system risked bias against disadvantaged groups.

Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Layla Moran said:

The Government’s botched handling of this crisis has caused untold distress and anguish to students, with many at risk of losing out on their preferred university place.

At every turn, the Education Secretary has ignored the warning signs, refused to consult teachers and blamed others instead of taking responsibility. This comes on top of a history of failures from the botched reopening of schools to failing to get laptops to pupils who need them.

There must be consequences for this catastrophic failure of governance. Gavin Williamson must resign, and if he refuses to go Boris Johnson must sack him.

Rise in depression demands urgent action

Responding to figures from the ONS that shows the number of adults experiencing depression has nearly doubled, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Munira Wilson said:

We have all seen the toll lockdown has taken. The scale and seriousness of the rise in depression over the last few months is extremely worrying.

Ministers must act now. The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to urgently develop a cross-departmental mental health plan to improve mental wellbeing for those impacted by the pandemic, including more funding and clearly-signposted support for every community.

Whilst we can hope to get a grip on COVID-19 in the coming months, the mental health impacts will last a lifetime. We must ensure no-one slips through the net as the scale of the mental health impact of this crisis emerges.

Decision to scrap PHE shows Government has got its priorities “all wrong”

Responding to news that the Health Secretary has confirmed the decision to scrap Public Health England, Liberal Democrat Health, Wellbeing and Social Care spokesperson Munira Wilson said:

Scrapping the body at the heart of our public health response in the middle of a global pandemic is yet another reminder that this Government has got its priorities all wrong.

This move risks worsening health inequalities and it’s not clear the Health Secretary has thought through who will take over vital PHE functions. Ministers are seeking to deflect the blame before the crisis is even behind us. They must take us for fools if they think people won’t see through this decision.

Many people will also be shocked by the lack of transparency around the decision to promote Tory insider Dido Harding to this pivotal role, given the Test and Trace system she was responsible for setting up is still not up to scratch.

Rather than wiping out Public Health England, the Government would do well to reflect on its handling of this pandemic and launch the independent inquiry it has promised – that is the only way to learn the lessons of this crisis.