Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered requiring state-funded schools with defibrillators to make those devices publicly accessible where it is safe and practicable to do so.

The department’s defibrillator programme provided over 20,000 defibrillators to state-funded schools in England, ensuring that all schools have access to a device.

Schools are best placed to make decisions on community access based on their individual circumstances. The primary concern should be locating defibrillators where they will best meet the needs of the school, and community access will not be suitable in all circumstances.

The department’s defibrillator guidance advises schools on the factors they should consider when deciding whether to allow community access. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/automated-external-defibrillators-aeds-in-schools.

The department encourages all schools to register their defibrillators on the national defibrillator network, The Circuit. This ensures that local ambulance services know where defibrillators are kept, meaning they can be called upon in an emergency to help save a life. More information, including how to register, can be found here: https://www.thecircuit.uk/.