Question reference: S6W-10108
- Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 29 July 2022
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Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 26 August 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the roll-out of free digital devices for all school children will take place in East Lothian.
Answer
1,806 devices have been distributed by the Council in East Lothian using the £25m digital inclusion funding made available by Scottish Government in 2020/21.
In addition, information we have from councils indicates that almost 280,000 devices have been, or are in the process of being, rolled out to learners across Scotland. This includes 72,000 provided as a result of Scottish Government funding.
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring every school aged child in Scotland has access to a device by the end of this parliament, in 2026.
This is a complex and ambitious commitment, and we are currently undertaking preparatory work, including looking at the available infrastructure in schools. We are taking work forward in partnership with local government colleagues and have convened a joint partnership board with COSLA to oversee the work.