ICT: Ethnic Groups

(asked on 16th April 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to improve access IT equipment for Black and Asian children living in low-income households.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 27th April 2021

The Government is providing over £400 million to support remote education and online social care services, including making 1.3 million laptops and tablets available for disadvantaged children and young people.

To date, over 1.29 million laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools, trusts, local authorities and further education providers. The Department has also partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help over 30,000 disadvantaged children get online, as well as delivering over 75,000 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home.

Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, trusts, local authorities or further education providers, who can lend these to children and young people who need them. Allocations of devices to schools and colleges are based on the number of pupils or students they have who are eligible for free school meals or free meals. This approach ensures that support provided by the Government reaches those families that need it most.

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