Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department's policies of the St John Ambulance paper entitled St John survey finds just 15% 'very confident' using a defib, published 10 June 2022.

On 17 July 2022, the Department announced that it would be providing defibrillators to all state funded schools in England that did not already have them.

The Department has worked with St John Ambulance and other leading charities to revise the defibrillator guidance. This updated guidance gives schools the tools and knowledge they need to manage and maximise access to defibrillators.

As part of the roll out, awareness videos have been provided, showing how simple defibrillators are to use. The Department is asking schools to share these videos in staff meetings and assemblies.

Providing defibrillators and raising awareness will help to produce a generation of young people who feel able and confident to use defibrillators.

This updated guidance on defibrillators in schools can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/automated-external-defibrillators-aeds-in-schools.