Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost to schools in England of replacing computers due to the requirements of new Windows 11 operating system.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The department is aware that Microsoft are ending support for Windows 10 in October and are working with Microsoft to manage the impact on schools, including with regard to cost. Devices that meet the specification requirements for Windows 11 will be able to be updated for free. Many schools may have devices which are not able to upgrade to Windows 11 and we are keen to support these schools.

We have validated with Microsoft a more affordable rate for schools for extended security updates on Windows 10 devices, so schools can continue to use these devices safely for the next three years and do not need to purchase new devices. Extended security updates for Windows 10 will be offered to education institutions at the cost of $1 per device in the first year, $2 the following year and $4 the third year. More details about the transition to Windows 11 can be found here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/blog/2024/04/windows-10-end-of-support-updates-for-education/.

Schools have the flexibility to choose how they spend their money in relation to technology to best suit their needs and there is no ring-fenced funding for technology. Some services offered through the department’s school resource management collection may also be helpful to schools in managing their budgets. For example, the ‘Get help buying for schools’ service includes the opportunity to get free help from procurement specialists to help those in schools responsible for buying goods and services to get the best value for money. It provides specific advice on buying specific goods and services for their school through a department approved framework. The service is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-buying-for-schools.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what mechanisms exist to ensure that catering contracts agreed by schools and academies comply with the duty in the Children and Families Act 2014 to support pupils with medical conditions, by including provision for children with conditions such as coeliac disease and severe food allergies to have access to the same opportunities as others, including safe meals.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

For the provision of school food, catering companies and suppliers are subject to allergen and packaging rules and regulations, such as the Food Information Regulations. Compliance with the Regulations falls under the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency.

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on governing bodies of maintained schools, proprietors of academies and management committees of pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils at their school with medical conditions. These may be food-related, for example a pupil may have a food allergy or coeliac disease. Schools should therefore take appropriate action in supporting such pupils to access food provision, particularly when schools have a legal requirement to offer free school meals (FSM) to those eligible for means-tested FSM or universal infant free school meals.

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Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost to schools and academies in England of upgrading computers following the most recent update to the Windows 11 operating system.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

I refer my noble Friend to the answer of 1 April 2025 to Question HL5134.

Found: Q75 Lord Knight of Weymouth: We will come back to that.

Found: Colville of Culross; Baroness Fleet; Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill; Lord Holmes of Richmond; Lord Knight of Weymouth

Found: Lord Dunlop; Baroness Fleet; Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill; Lord Holmes of Richmond; Lord Knight of Weymouth

Found: Lord Dunlop; Baroness Fleet; Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill; Lord Holmes of Richmond; Lord Knight of Weymouth

Found: Clause 23 BARONESS WOLF OF DULWICH LORD ABERDARE LORD KNIGHT OF WEYMOUTH 102_ Clause 23, page 43,