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<p>The department has already invested over £100 million to support remote education
and has delivered over 220,000 laptops and tablets to local authorities and academy
trusts for children who would not otherwise have access.</p><p>The department allocated
devices to local authorities and academy trusts based on its estimates of the number
of eligible children that did not have access to a device through other means, such
as a private device or through school. Local authorities and academy trusts were responsible
for distributing the devices, being best placed to know which children and young people
need access to a device delivered through the programme.</p><p>Where local authorities
and academy trusts identified a need greater than their initial allocation, they could
provide evidence and request more devices. No valid request for additional devices
for eligible children was denied.</p><p>We are now supplementing this support by making
an initial 150,000 available additional devices in the event face-to-face schooling
is disrupted as a result of local COVID-19 restrictions or local lockdowns, and children
become reliant on remote education.</p><p> </p>
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