Politics latest news:  Government aims for children to receive exam re…

The Government will aim for children to receive exam results in the summer, the Education Secretary has said, as he admitted it was “not something we want to do”. 

Gavin Williamson said that whilst no GCSE  and a-level exams will take place due to school closures, the aim will be for students to receive their results in August, as would normally be the case. 

“We will be aiming , and we cant with total guarantee say results will be out in August because we don’t know how the spread of the virus will effect the examining board and those people who issue the grades, but our aim will be to issue people GCSE and a-level examinations in August as we usually do but under a different process and different system as to how we’ve done in the past,” he told BBC Breakfast. 

“It’s not something we want to do but it’s a decision we are having to make with a heavy heart.” 

Mr Williamson said more details on how this will work will be published tomorrow, as he confirmed “a proper appeals process” will be established.  

It comes as emergency legislation to tackle the coronavirus outbreak is due to be published in Parliament. 

The Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, will table the Emergency Coronavirus Bill setting out measures aimed at slowing the spread and supporting the NHS and workers in the Common. 

The legislation will be presented as the Army prepares to help out in the crisis and Londoners faced the prospect of greater restrictions, with the capital suffering a faster spread of Covid-19.