§ The Earl of Northeskasked Her Majesty's Government:
In the light of recent reports about the £57,000 quarterly Internet bill charged to Sandhurst primary school in Lewisham, what arrangements are in place for government funding of Internet connections in particular, and information technology provision more generally, for the education sector. [HL2]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Baroness Ashton of Upholland)Schools are individually responsible for their own Internet charges, whether they negotiate their own contracts or purchase through their LEAs. As part of the department's broadband policy. 10 regional broadband consortia were set up to achieve cost-effective broadband connections for schools. The Prime Minister announced on 19 November that every primary and secondary school in the country will be provided with broadband Internet access by 2006.
The Government have made over £1.8 billion available for ICT provision in schools in England over 1998 to 2004. This funding is to introduce and develop schools' ICT infrastructure, including hardware, content, training and Internet connectivity.
In higher education, the Government have provided over £250 million over 2001 to 2004 for improving institutions' local networks; further digitisation of material to meet the growing demands for online information; and upgrading the transatlantic link connecting with the Joint Academy Network (JANet) further to facilitiate international collaboration in research.
In further education, the Government have funded the National Learning Network (NLN) to improve hardware and connectivity, develop staff skills. provide learning materials and guide effective learning, teaching and management across the post-16 sector: £42 million is available in the current and next financial years to support the network.