§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans his Department has to assist in making broadband available to an educational institution available to the wider community. [147916]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeMy Department recognises the potential benefits to the community in schools being connected to broadband and making access to their ICT infrastructure more widely available. The 10 Regional Broadband Consortia for England are working with their member LEAs and schools in their area to develop this network accessibility.
The cross-government Broadband Aggregation Project, announced by e-Commerce Minister Stephen Timms in July last year, is also addressing the issues involved in using schools as broadband hubs for the wider community. Although there are some instances already where schools are extending access to the community, there are a number of issues to consider and resolve before defining the way forward in this area.
In terms of access to ICT more broadly, the Department's Extended Schools and School Community Links Team are developing guidance to assist schools in offering a range of ICT facilities to their communities. This guidance is expected to be available by the end of March 2004.