Coronavirus: Education Setting Attendance and Support for Pupils Debate

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Department: Department for Education

Coronavirus: Education Setting Attendance and Support for Pupils

Peter Gibson Excerpts
Thursday 23rd September 2021

(2 years, 7 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Peter Gibson Portrait Peter Gibson (Darlington) (Con)
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I welcome my hon. Friend to his place. I commend his Department for its successful efforts to eliminate the barrier of digital exclusion by providing 1.3 million laptops and tablets to disadvantaged students during the pandemic. Can he confirm that that investment will continue for those pupils?

Alex Burghart Portrait Alex Burghart
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Yes, all of the 1.35 million laptops that my hon. Friend refers to are still in use and are still out in the community. It was a major offer that the Government made to children who were digitally disadvantaged and it came, as he will recall, with a wi-fi offer, which made sure they had the connectivity they needed. This was a very important initiative by the DFE, and we are sticking by it.