202300355678 · FOI · not held
Laptops/iPads handed out to school pupils in Scotland since the 2021: FOI release
Information requested
1. How many laptops/iPads have been handed out to school pupils in Scotland since the 2021 promise by the SNP? Breakdown by region and year if possible. 2. How many pupils are there in Scotland in each region that are eligible for laptops? What percentage of pupils in each region have received their laptop? 3. How much money has been spent on this policy? Breakdown by year and what it has been spent on? 4. How much is it estimated to cost overall to supply every school pupil with a laptop and how much has been allocated for this policy over the next year?
Response
Each of your questions are answered below.
How many laptops/iPads have been handed out to school pupils in Scotland since the 2021 promise by the SNP? Breakdown by region and year if possible.
Whilst our aim is to provide information wherever possible, this is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested, specifically relating to the number of devices distributed since 2021, broken down by region and year.
This is because we are continuing work to develop delivery plans in partnership with COSLA and local authorities, including phasing and funding options for this commitment.
Local authorities have a statutory duty to deliver education in their area and will invest and distribute devices in line with their own digital inclusion strategies. We do not hold information on individual authorities and schools’ digital strategies.
How many pupils are there in Scotland in each region that are eligible for laptops? What percentage of pupils in each region have received their laptop?
Annex A provides a breakdown of pupils in each local authority, as per the most recent pupil census. The table also contains a breakdown of devices distributed from Scottish Government digital inclusion funding provided in 2020/21, as a result of school closures caused by the pandemic.
Local authorities have also distributed devices to learners via their own programmes and budgets. As above, we do not hold information on individual authorities and schools’ digital strategies.
How much money has been spent on this policy? Breakdown by year and what it has been spent on?
The Scottish Government provided over £20m to local authorities in 2020/21 for devices. This resulted in over 72,000 pupils receiving a tablet or laptop to tackle digital exclusion. The funding also provided 14,000 internet connections.
There has been no further Scottish Government funding for devices and/or connectivity since then.
How much is it estimated to cost overall to supply every school pupil with a laptop and how much has been allocated for this policy over the next year?
The Capital Spending Review, published in May 2022, set out high level spending plans for capital from 2023-24 to 2025-26 and provided an indicative allocation of £140 million to support the rollout of digital devices.
The budget published in December 2022 allocated £13 million budget for 2023/24.
Annex A
The following table shows the number of pupils as per the 2022 pupil census (published in March 2023 – available at the following link on the Scottish Government website - http://bitly.ws/Hcdy ), along with the number of devices distributed as a result of the funding in 2020/21, broken down by each local authority.
Please note that these figures do not reflect the additional devices that have or are in the process of being distributed by local authorities in line with their own budgets and digital strategies.
Local Authority Pupils (as at March 2023) Devices Distributed in 2020/21 Percentage Per Head (March 2023) Aberdeen City 25,143 1,777 7% Aberdeenshire 36,812 5,008 14% Angus 15,013 2,420 16% Argyll and Bute 9,994 1,317 13% City of Edinburgh 53,580 2,605 5% Clackmannanshire 6,666 828 12% Dumfries and Galloway 18,562 2,371 13% Dundee City 18,472 2,050 11% East Ayrshire 16,149 1,837 11% East Dunbartonshire 17,405 1,015 6% East Lothian 15,092 1,806 12% East Renfrewshire 17,672 623 3% Falkirk 21,663 1,840 8% Fife 49,621 5,465 11% Glasgow City 71,342 7,240 10% Highland 30,649 4,499 15% Inverclyde 9,648 1,107 11% Midlothian 13,948 1,235 9% Moray 12,212 1,315 11% Na h-Eileanan Siar 3,271 357 10% North Ayrshire 17,691 1,734 10% North Lanarkshire 48,742 6,026 12% Orkney Islands 2,796 275 10% Perth and Kinross 18,069 1,507 8% Renfrewshire 24,073 1,800 7% Scottish Borders 14,296 316 2% Shetland Islands 3,290 475 14% South Ayrshire 14,223 1,512 10% South Lanarkshire 45,862 5,544 12% Stirling 12,775 1,794 14% West Dunbartonshire 12,226 2,084 17% West Lothian 27,741 2,905 10% Total 704,698 72,687
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact Please quote the FOI reference Central Enquiry Unit Email: ceu@gov.scot Phone: 0300 244 4000 The Scottish Government St Andrews House Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG
Detected exemption language
Whilst our aim is to provide information wherever possible, this is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested, specifically relating to the number of devices distributed since 2021, broken down by region and year.
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