Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) dongles, (b) MiFi devices, (c) SIM cards and (d) other connectivity devices have been supplied to schools under (i) the Get help with technology programme and (ii) predecessor programmes aimed at supporting schools through the outbreak of covid-19 in each local education authority as at (A) 1 September 2020, (B) 20 December 2020 and (C) 1 April 2021.

As part of the Government’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we are investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. To date, over 1.29 million laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools, academy trusts, local authorities and further education colleges.

The Department has also partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home.

We are building on the foundations of the Department’s significant investment in technology and exploring future options, which we will set out in due course.