Markus Andrews

Teacher assessment of pupils is a better and more “accurate” way of awarding grades than formal exams, the government’s qualification regulator has said.Simon Lebus, the interim head of Ofqual said having teachers grade their pupils on work throughout the year would give a more “holistic judgement” rather than the “snapshot” provided by an exam.Headteachers welcomed the comments, which represent a shift in government thinking, and said ministers had in recent years become “fixated” on assessing students “almost entirely” with final exams. But teacher leaders warned that this year’s policy had been brought in in a chaotic way that had put schools under extreme pressure.GCSE and A-level students are receiving teacher-assessed grade in 2021 because of the widespread closure of schools during the Covid-19 pandemic. The grades will not be adjusted by algorithm, in a departure from last year’s approach, which attracted widespread criticism. “A way to think of it is the exams are a bit like a snapshot, photograph you capture an instant, it’s a form of sampling, whereas teacher assessment allows teachers to observe student performance over a much longer period in a rather more complex way, taking into account lots of different pieces of work and arriving at a holistic judgement,” Mr Lebus of Ofqual told The BBC.”I think from that point of view, we can feel satisfied that it’s likely to give a much more accurate and substantial reflection of what the students are capable of achieving.”Boris Johnson said earlier in the academic year that it would not be “fair” for exams to go ahead as normal given disruption to schooling. Mainstream schools in England were moved to online learning in the winter due to rising Covid cases and deaths. Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told The Independent: “Exams are obviously a different way of assessing students than teacher assessments. The former is essentially a snapshot of performance on the day that the student sits an exam and tends to favour students who are good at exams. “The latter is a more holistic judgement which takes into account a range of evidence. There are pros and cons to both approaches. There is a good argument for using a greater range of assessment methods in the future which blend both approaches. “The government in recent years has become fixated on students being assessed almost entirely on a set of terminal exams which has created far too much pressure in the system and on young people.”Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teachers union said: “Students, teachers and school leaders have worked extremely hard towards this year’s results in the face of unique and hugely difficult circumstances. “School and college staff deserve recognition of the huge pressures and additional workload they have faced in producing centre assessed grades and young people deserve praise for the tenacity they have shown in dealing with the huge uncertainties and anxieties of the last 18 months.“The challenges of the awarding process this year were significantly exacerbated by the Government’s delay in drawing up contingency plans.“Whilst schools have done a tremendous job in picking up the pieces left of the Government’s last-minute decision-making, many teachers were left running on empty with teacher workload at breaking point at the end of last term. We cannot afford a repeat of this confusion and chaos for yet another year.”Asked about the comments, the prime minister’s spokesperson said: “We believe that exams remain the fairest form of assessment.”After Downing Street’s comments and the publication of this article, an Ofqual spokesperson approached The Independent and said: “Simon’s remarks were taken out of context. Simon meant [teacher assessed grades] will be more accurate this year than exams could have been, were they to have taken place. In a normal year, our preference would be for exams.” More

The UK has slapped Belarus with new economic sanctions as part of wider efforts to increase pressure on the autocratic regime of Alexander Lukashenko. The measures, which were announced on Monday, target the country’s profitable potash and petroleum sectors as well as its aviation industry. Under the updated rules, Belarusian aircraft carries will not be allowed to fly over or land in the UK, while assistance cannot be offered to private jets owned by Mr Lukashenko. The latest in a line of Western sanctions, the British government’s move also affects Belarusian state-owned banks, as it forbids the purchase of shares and treasury bills issued by them. The clampdown follows Mr Lukashenko’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, who complain that last August’s election was rigged in favour of the long-serving leader. Along with the US, the EU and Canada, the UK imposed travel bans and asset freezes on Belarusian officials in June, after the Lukashenko regime hijacked a Ryanair flight, forcing it to land in Minsk so that two passengers – the journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega – could be arrested. Announcing the UK’s most recent response, the British foreign secretary Dominic Raab said: “These sanctions demonstrate that the UK will not accept Lukashenko’s actions since the fraudulent election. The Lukashenko regime continues to crush democracy and violate human rights in Belarus.”“The products of Lukashenko’€™s state-owned industries will not be sold in the UK, and our aerospace companies will not touch his fleet of luxury aircraft,” he added. The UK said that the US would also introduce new measures against the Belarusian regime on Monday, exactly a year on from the country’s disputed presidential election. In response to the UK’s new sanctions, Mr Lukashenko, who has cosied up to Russia over the past year, said Britain can “choke on them”. At the same time, however, he told Western leaders to negotiate with him rather than ramp up their sanctions. Earlier on Monday, he denied allegations that he is an autocrat, dismissing “those nasty things” Western nations accuse him of doing. Since last August, the world has watched his regime crack down violently on protesters and arrest hundreds of opposition supporters, leading many to flee into exile. The exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who visited Boris Johnson last week, has said further sanctions should be used against Mr Lukashenko. “The regime is not ready to change its behaviour. I think a new wave of sanction measures have to be imposed on the regime because they don’t understand another language,” she said. “Sanctions are not a silver bullet, but they will help stop the repression.”Recent repression includes the reported attempt to force Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, 24, to fly back home from the Tokyo Olympics. After seeking protection from Japanese police at Haneda airport, she was offered a visa by Poland. Additional reporting by Reuters More

A cabinet minister has admitted there are “always disagreements” and “creative tension” between the prime minister and chancellor amid reports that Boris Johnson threatened to demote Rishi Sunak.Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, however, stressed that Mr Johnson was “100 per cent” behind the chancellor and that the pair worked “very closely” together – despite claims of strained relations.Reports suggested Mr Johnson had “ranted” about the chancellor and suggested he might be removed from the role and be made health secretary in a meeting with around a dozen officials at No 10. The prime minister was said to be furious after correspondence from Mr Sunak to his private office — calling for a significant easing of travel restrictions — was leaked to the media last week, according to The Sunday Times.Pressed on the row, Mr Kwarteng insisted on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the chancellor and prime minister “get on very well generally” and have been focused on the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.But when quizzed on whether he would acknowledge disagreements over levels of government spending, he replied: “There are always disagreements, there’s always going to be a slight creative tension perhaps between No 10 and No 11. “I can’t remember a time in the last 30 years when there haven’t been debates and conversations between the prime minister and the chancellor.“I happen to think as I’ve said that this prime minister and this chancellor are working very closely together and they are as a cohesive as any kind of relationship of that kind that I’ve seen.”Mr Kwarteng added that he didn’t think there was any prospect of Mr Sunak being moved to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and stressed during a separate interview on Monday that the prime minister and everyone in cabinet “is 100 per cent behind him”.However, allies of the chancellor told The Times that the prime minister risked losing direction “completely” if removed Mr Sunak as chancellor, telling the newspaper: “He would have the most likely contender to replace him on the backbenches. He’s not going to take a demotion. That would be ridiculous.”On Monday, a No 10 spokesperson insisted Mr Johnson had full confidence in the chancellor, claiming there were no imminent plans for a cabinet reshuffle. “The prime minister and the chancellor have always enjoyed a close and effective working relationship, and will continue to do so,” they added.Seizing on the row, Labour’s chief secretary to the Treasury, Bridget Phillipson, urged Mr Johnson to urgently “get a grip on the real challenges facing this country”.She added: “The Covid pandemic continues, tens of thousands of livelihoods are still at risk, the climate crisis threatens our planet but he’s busy picking fights with his own government and threatening to sack the chancellor. It’s completely disgraceful.”Lib Dem leader Ed Davey added: “After the calamity of the past two years, the prime minister should look in the mirror and demote himself before worrying about the rest of them.” More

Boris Johnson was “wrong” to cast doubt on the effectiveness of wind farms in 2013 when he suggested they couldn’t “pull the skin off a rice pudding”, a cabinet minister has said.It comes as Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled a £260 million public and private sector investment in offshore wind farms – forming part of plans to “eradicate” Britain’s contribution to the climate crisis.On Monday, a group of leading climate scientists also warned the world will reach 1.5C above pre-industrial levels sometime over the next 20 years, with the risk of far greater global warming if little is done.But the business secretary Mr Kwarteng faced questions on the controversial remarks made by Mr Johnson, who also argued that country should “look at” the opportunity of shale gas, while he was mayor of London in 2013.“When he said that eight-nine years ago, clearly what he said was wrong,” Mr Kwarteng told LBC radio. “Wind farms, wind power contributes sometimes upwards of 40 per cent of electricity”.“I think there’s been a huge change in the last eight years. I remember in 2012, 40 per cent of our electricity then basically derived from coal – today that figure is less than two per cent,” he added.“Over the last nine years we’ve seen a revolution in the way we power electricity, the way we power our lives and offshore wind has been a huge part of that success and that transition”.Quizzed again, Mr Kwarteng said: “As a politician, I look back on things I said eight/nine years ago that were wrong.”Addressing his own comments at the Conservative Party conference in 2019, the prime minister accused his past self of “forgetting the history of this country”, as he offered a revised personal view of wind power.“I remember how some people used to sneer at wind power, 20 years ago, and say that it wouldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding,” he said.“They forgot the history of this country. It was offshore wind that puffed the sails of Drake and Raleigh and Nelson, and propelled this country to commercial greatness.”According to an analysis published earlier this year, nearly a quarter of the UK’s electricity came from wind turbines in 2020 and moved away from coal power at a faster rate than any other G20 country from 2015 to 2020. More

Ministers have been accused of issuing confusing advice over whether civil servants should continue working from home or return to the office.The government has reportedly scrapped plans to require Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) staff to be based in the office part-time from September.England’s order to work from home where possible, which was put in place in March 2020 as part of efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus, was lifted on 19 July.DHSC staff were told that there would be a “minimum expectation” that they would attend the Westminster office for between four and eight days every month, unless there was a business or health-related reason.But an announcement sent out to staff on Thursday, that has been seen by The Guardian, states that the requirement to work partly from the office has been dropped.In Whitehall, departments have flexibility to make working arrangements that suit their needs, although they are expected to “cautiously increase” the number of staff working in the office during the pandemic, a government spokesperson said.It comes after the chancellor Rishi Sunak said that people who are in their early stages of their careers would benefit from working face-to-face with colleagues.Layla Moran, chairwoman of the all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus, said the DHSC U-turn showed there was “inconsistency” in the government’s work-from-home guidance.The Liberal Democrat MP said: “This is yet more mixed messaging from the government at a time when the public and businesses need clarity.“This comes just days after the chancellor urged young people to head back to the office, showing the inconsistency at the heart of the government’s approach.“Ministers shouldn’t be urging people back to the office at a time when [Covid] cases remain high and against the government’s own workplace safety guidance.“Reducing transmission remains important to prevent the emergence of new variants that could evade current vaccines.”Meanwhile, a Cabinet Office minister, who has not been named, told the Daily Mail that civil servants working from home should have their pay cut to make up for the “de facto pay rise” from not having to commute.It is “unfair on those who are going into work” when other staff members save on commuting costs, the minister said.In the Department for Education, skills minister Gillian Keegan estimated around 25 per cent of staff were in the office on any given day “and quite frankly they are all excited to come back”. More

Downing Street has forked out almost £100,000 of taxpayers’ money on two sets of artwork while PM Boris Johnson has planned to cut public sector pay and benefits.The pieces of artwork were bought through the Government Art Collection fund, The Mirror reported.A unnamed painting by Belfast-born artist Cathy Wilkes was purchased for £70,200. The 24×28 inch piece – bought from the Xavier Hufkens gallery in Brussels – is a washy blend of muted pink, turquoise and green “egg tempera on linen”.A set of four black-and-white photo prints of vegetation and their shadows called ‘Ashen, Restless,’ by photographer Willie Doherty was bought for £18,775 – from the Kerlin Gallery in Dublin – to also go on display at 11 Downing Street.Downing Street was unable to say how much public cash was spent on the art but a spokesman said the “majority” of the money came from “philanthropic” donors.In less than two month’s time, low-income households will receive less money in benefits.The £20-a-week Universal Credit uplift, that was put in place at the start of the Covid pandemic, will be “phased out” from the end of September and mainly October – Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey confirmed last month.Also in July, public sector workers such as teachers and police officers received a real-terms pay cut when their salaries were frozen.Referring to the new art, Labour MP Neil Coyle tweeted: “As his Government cuts Universal Credit and freezes frontline nurse/police pay, Johnson has found more money to treat himself. Again. He could not be more out of touch.”Last year, civil servants splashed out £696,700 on new works for the Government Art Collection, more than 60 per cent up on the £432,071 spent the year before – The Mirror reported.The Collection has bought more than 90 works by 45 artists for £230,000 in a bid to “support the British visual arts sector during the Covid-19 pandemic,” according to the The Art Newspaper website.More than 14,000 pieces in tota; are in the collection, and are displayed in government buildings in the UK and in British embassies and residences around the world, it also said.Last year, Mr Johnson and his wife Carrie were criticised over the £200,000 redecoration of the Downing Street flat they live in with their son and dog.The Cabinet Office paid £58,000 towards the makeover by designer Lulu Lytle last July, then millionaire Conservative peer and Tory donor Lord Brownlow was secretly asked to cover the cost before Mr Johnson then paid for it himself. More

Prices for travel PCR Covid tests, some of which are exorbitant and vary wildly between providers, have prompted an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).The body was called into action after the health secretary, Sajid Javid, wrote to it asking for a review following reports of “exploitative behaviour” and “unfair practices”.Travelers arriving in the UK are routinely charged hundreds of pounds for Covid tests, with many complaining of inflated prices, missing results and poor customer service. PCRs cost holidaymakers an average of £75 per person in the UK – roughly double the cost of the same type of test in other European countries – and some firms charge almost £400.Travellers returning to the UK from amber- and green-list countries are required to purchase a single PCR test – and those who are unvaccinated and have been in an amber-list country within the previous 10 days must take two tests, on days two and eight. PCR tests are also required before travelling to some countries from the UK.The Independent has heard of private providers offering PCR tests with faulty activation codes, rendering them useless, and firms that do not respond to emails or phone calls leading to delays or test results failing to be returned. Prices for the PCR tests listed on the government’s own website of approved providers range between £17 and £399.In his letter to the CMA sent on Friday and reported in The Sunday Times, Mr Javid called for a “rapid high-level review” and said: “The cost of PCR testing can act as a barrier, especially for families who want to travel together.“It is not right if some families experience yet further disruption unnecessarily because of practices in the market for private travel tests.”Responding to his letter, the CMA said: “We look forward to providing the secretary of state with advice on how best to ensure that travellers have access to tests that are affordable and reliable.”The Independent contacted the CMA for further comment. More

The major Conservative Party donor at the centre of an alleged “cash for access” row paid £100,000 for a breakfast date with Boris Johnson, it has emerged.Business tycoon Mohamed Amersi is said to have paid for the early morning meeting with the prime minister after winning a fundraising dinner auction in November 2019.The £99,500 donation to Tory HQ was reported to the Electoral Commission last January – but Mr Amersi is yet to get his breakfast with Mr Johnson, according to the Sunday Times.Mr Amersi revealed last week that a group of wealthy Tory donors known as the “advisory board” had been developed to connect the party’s biggest financial backers with ministers.A client of Tory co-chair Ben Elliot’s concierge company Quintessentially, Mr Amersi said the donors’ group worked in a similar way to the private firm. “One needs to cough up £250,000 per annum or be a friend of Ben.”Frustrated by his failure to get his breakfast meeting with Mr Johnson, Mr Amersi reportedly emailed Mr Elliot in June 2020 to complain.“I know this is unlikely to happen until full lockdown is over but can you ensure this is co-ordinated,” Mr Elliot then wrote to colleagues at Tory HQ. “Who is our internal liaison?”It has also emerged that the Conservative Party made several payments to Mr Elliot’s company Hod Hill last year.The party said the payments funded “administrative support” so Hod Hill co-director Jakob Widecki could work with Mr Elliot at Tory HQ, according to the Sunday Times.It comes as new analysis by The Independent shows just ten wealthy people account for a quarter of all the donations made by individuals to the Tory Party since Mr Johnson became prime minister.The ten super-rich donors have given a combined sum of just over £10m to the Tories since he entered No 10 – more than 25 per cent of the £38.6m received from individuals in the past two years.Mr Amersi sits just outside the list of top ten donors, having given £189,000 since Mr Johnson entered No 10. He previously gave almost £300,000 to the party during Theresa May’s three years in Downing Street.Labour MP Anneliese Dodds, the party’s chair, said the Conservatives had “serious questions to answer” about their dependence on big donors.The frontbencher told The Independent: “We need to know why the Tories have become so reliant on huge donations from a select group of super wealthy individuals – and what it is that these elite donors are being given in return.“Boris Johnson has created a cash for access culture in the Conservative Party … He needs to break his silence and explain what he plans to do to ensure there isn’t one rule for senior Conservatives and their cronies, and another rule for everyone else.”Sir Keir Starmer has demanded that the Tories reveal who was in the party’s club for big donors. “We can’t have this sleaze, this murky cash-for-access,” he said.Conservative Party co-chair Amanda Milling has insisted that government policy “is in no way influenced by the donations the party receives – they are entirely separate”.She said: “All political parties raise money and accept donations in order to pay their staff and campaign in elections.”Meanwhile, Labour has accused former chancellor Phillip Hammond of breaking the ministerial code, after he reportedly wrote to the Treasury to advocate for a bank he now works for as a paid adviser.Mr Hammond emailed Charles Roxburgh, the Treasury’s second most senior civil servant, in July 2020 to explain the benefits of a “toolkit” developed by OakNorth to assess borrowers, according to the Sunday Telegraph.Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, claimed the Tory MP had violated the code of conduct for former ministers and called for the cabinet secretary to investigate. “If the rules are treated with such derision by the former chancellor then the whole system is rotten.”Lord Hammond’s spokesman insisted OakNorth were offering their toolkit to the Treasury “free of charge” and no rules had been broken. More