Internet: Coronavirus

(asked on 21st April 2020) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on funding programmes to provide electronic equipment and connectivity for education and social use to vulnerable people.


Answered by
Kemi Badenoch Portrait
Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
This question was answered on 27th April 2020

HMT and DCMS ministers meet frequently to cover a range of issues as part of the normal process of policy development and delivery.

The government is working to address issues faced by vulnerable people who may also be digitally excluded. For example:

- The government is currently working with FutureDotNow to support an industry-led campaign to provide devices to digitally excluded people to support better health and social care outcomes.

- The government has also worked with the UK’s major telecommunications providers to agree measures to support connectivity for vulnerable consumers.

- The government has also recently announced that vulnerable and disadvantaged children across England are to receive laptops, tablets and 4G routers to make remote education accessible. The government is additionally working with the major telecommunications providers to make it easier for families to access selected educational resources by temporarily exempting these sites from data charges.

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