Question reference: S5W-30133
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 22 June 2020
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Current status: Answered by John Swinney on 1 July 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many digital or technical devices have been distributed to households since March 2020 to assist with home schooling, blended learning or virtual classes and teaching, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold detailed information on the number of devices issued to households to support home learning, blended learning or virtual classes across all local authorities. We do know that a number of authorities have pre-existing device rollout programmes and a number of others have issued devices in response to the pandemic.
The Scottish Government has committed to investing a total of £25m to support digital inclusion amongst school aged children suffering from digital exclusion. We are working closely with SOLACE, ADES and Cosla on that investment and on the rollout of devices across Scottish local authorities.