PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Schools: Enfield (26 June 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department will commence the delivery of laptops and other school equipment to Enfield Council, as part of the Government's programme to provide technology support for children and schools during the covid-19 outbreak.

Asked by:
Feryal Clark (Labour)

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 laptops and tablets to 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 4G wireless routers.

The Department has ordered over 200,000 laptops and tablets and allocated devices to local authorities and academy trusts based on its estimates of the number of eligible children that do not have access to a device. Local authorities and academy trusts are best placed to identify and prioritise children and young people who need devices. All local authorities and academy trusts have been invited to place their orders. Laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers will arrive within five days of an order being placed.

The Department has published information about how many laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers we have delivered or dispatched to local authorities and academy trusts in total which can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/laptops-tablets-and-4g-wireless-routers-progress-data. This includes 723 laptops and 149 4G wireless routers dispatched to Enfield Council on 18 June.

Answered by:
Nick Gibb (Conservative)
6 July 2020