Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing laptops to all disadvantaged secondary school pupils in England.

The department recognises the importance of the availability of laptops and other technology, in particular for disadvantaged children and young people who may not have access to a device of their own. This is why we have already provided over 1.35 million devices, via schools, colleges and local authorities, which are responsible for allocating them to those pupils who need them most.

On Friday 22 October, the department announced that a further 500,000 devices will be provided this academic year, which brings the total investment to over £520 million.