Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he made of the availability of strong internet connections for students studying from home during the covid-19 outbreak.

It is vital that students have access to high quality and consistent remote education. The Department believes that through the hard work of teachers and staff, pupils will continue to receive the education they deserve, whatever the circumstances.

As part of over £195 million invested in technology to enable access to remote education, over 220,000 laptops and tablets and over 50,000 4G wireless routers have already been delivered during the summer term for disadvantaged children in Year 10, children receiving support from a social worker and care leavers.

The Department estimated the number of disadvantaged pupils without access to an internet connection using data on pupils eligible for Free School Meals in each school, taking into consideration estimations by Ofcom and reflecting that some pupils would already have access to a private internet connection.

The 4G wireless routers come with free data for the autumn term and will allow local authorities and academy trusts to support children who may have their face-to-face education and care disrupted because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Local authorities and trusts are responsible for identifying the children who need internet access and providing the routers to them.

The Department is also working with the major telecommunications companies to improve internet connectivity for disadvantaged and vulnerable families who rely on a mobile internet connection. We are piloting an approach where mobile network operators are providing temporary access to free additional data, offering families more flexibility to access the resources that they need the most. In the pilot, schools, trusts, and local authorities identified children who need access to free additional data.