§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many schools have to date been linked to the information superhighway and at what cost; and when he estimates that all schools will have been linked to the information superhighway and at what total cost. [74760]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Department published last year the results of a survey of ICT provision in schools which indicated that 17 per cent. of primary schools and 83 per cent. of secondary schools were connected to the Internet by March 1998. This is in comparison to the previous year's survey (published in 1997), which indicated that 5 per cent. of primary schools and 47 per cent. of secondary schools were connected to the Internet at that time. Subsequent annual surveys will indicate the change in growth of schools with such connections, although the latest estimates from British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) are that approximately 30 per cent. of primary schools, 90 per cent. of secondary schools and 45 per cent. of special schools in England currently have some form of Internet access. The Government are committed to ensuring that all schools are connected to the Internet by 2002.
The Government are supporting expenditure of over £700 million during the period 1998–2002 on the National Grid for Learning Standards Fund. This is enabling schools to connect to the information superhighway and equip themselves with the networking infrastructure and information and communications technology to make 607W best use of it. It is not possible to break down this figure into the precise amount that schools spend on use of the Internet.