British MPs urge prime minister to ensure all pupils have digital resources for home learning

UK Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) Siobhain McDonagh, alongside other MPs, unions, and charities, called upon  Prime Minister Boris Johnson to support ‘children on the wrong side of the digital divide who have neither the data nor the devices to log in from home when their schools close.’ The call was in the form of a letter that was signed by public figures including former prime minister Tony Blair and three past education secretaries. It requested that Johnson address the digital divide by ensuring that every child away from school has the data and devices required for online learning. The letter further pointed out that approximately 9% of children in the UK have no access to a laptop, desktop, or tablet and almost 1 million rely on a mobile connection. To this aim, the signatories suggested ‘a register of which children are without the technology or connectivity and a clear plan for how they will quickly receive this.’