Children and Young People: Broadband and ICT

Department for Education written question – answered at on 30 June 2020.

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Photo of Helen Hayes Helen Hayes Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that children and young people eligible for technology support will have access to devices and broadband over the 2020 summer holidays to catch-up on learning programmes.

Photo of Nick Gibb Nick Gibb Minister of State (Education)

The Government has committed over £100 million to support vulnerable and disadvantaged children in England to access remote education and social care services, including by providing laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers.

We are providing over 200,000 laptops and tablets to local authorities and academy trusts for disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examinations in year 10, receiving support from a social worker or are a care leaver. Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and children in year 10 do not have internet connections, we are providing 50,000 4G wireless routers.

These laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers are the property of the local authority, trust or school, and so will benefit children’s education long after we come out of the measures required to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes supporting children and young people to catch up on learning over the summer holidays.

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