The education secretary has refuted “inaccurate” claims that the government’s free laptops scheme is delayed.
Facing questions from MPs in the House of Commons, Gavin Williamson said the Department for Education (DfE) is “on target” to deliver all thedevices by the end of June.
Asked by Meg Hillier, Labour chair of the Public Accounts Committee, about delays to the scheme, Mr Williamson denied that the laptops were late.
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Ms Hillier said: “A decade ago I sat in a cabinet office briefing room discussing the threat of the then-threatened pandemic, and then we were discussing the closure of schools.
“So it beggars belief that the secretary of state can come to the House today with no clear plan for getting out the laptops whichare delayed -that wasn’t planned in advance.
“It’s late,secretary of state -he shakes his head, madam deputy speaker, for the record.
“But they are late -this is already late for vulnerable pupils, and with no clear plan aboutcatch up.”
Mr Williamson responded: “The honourable lady is inaccurate in the fact that the laptops that we had promisedto actually ensure that we get out to children -vulnerable children, those whoare facing exams in Year 10 -are actually on schedule.
“We’d said thatthey would all be distributed by the end of June and we’re on target to be able to do that.
“We did make the decision to prioritisethose children who aremost vulnerable, and I still think that was the right decision to make.”
