Boris Johnson wants to 'spring' hundreds of laptops for children from Leeds council storeroom

Boris Johnson has claimed he wants to "spring" hundreds of laptops provided by the Government for use by disadvantaged Leeds pupils from a city council storeroom.
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The PM was responding to a question from Conservative MP Alec Shelbrooke, who claimed half the laptops provided to Leeds City Council for home use during the pandemic "remain in the storeroom at Leeds Civic Hall".

But Leeds City Council said he had misinformed Mr Johnson, with a senior councillor adding: "The majority of IT equipment has already gone out to families and the rest has been allocated to children and will be on its way by the end of the week."

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During Prime Minister's Questions the MP for Elmet and Rothwell said he was "frustrated" by the laptops not being made available to vulnerable learners and asked: "What can be done to get the Labour council to pull their socks up?"

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Mr Johnson replied: "I'm disappointed because the 2,500 laptops and tablets and 400 routers were delivered to the city council for disadvantaged 10 year old pupils and I will do whatever I can to spring those laptops from the cupboard as fast as they can."

The exchange follows a war of words which broke out last week between Leeds City Council’s ruling Labour group and the opposition Conservative group over how many disadvantaged children who are isolating due to Covid-19 have access to computers.

Ryan Stephenson, the opposition Conservatives group’s education spokesman, said “more than half” of tablet PCs and internet routers received by Leeds City Council had still not been distributed to the children who needed to use them during the pandemic.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson pictured in Leeds last year. Pic: Chris EtchellsPrime Minister Boris Johnson pictured in Leeds last year. Pic: Chris Etchells
Prime Minister Boris Johnson pictured in Leeds last year. Pic: Chris Etchells
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But a senior Labour councillor said the scheme was “ongoing”, adding that almost 1,500 devices had already been given out by the council. Executive member for children and families Fiona Venner insisted officers have worked hard to provide vulnerable families with help, adding that Government broke its promises to the council around wider funding help around Covid-19.

She said today: “It is disappointing to hear the Prime Minister being misinformed by Alec Shelbrooke over the efforts of Leeds to set up thorough allocation schemes for the distribution of laptops to vulnerable children allocated to Children's Social Care.

“The information Alec Shelbrooke gave the Prime Minister today is simply wrong. The majority of IT equipment has already gone out to families and the rest has been allocated to children and will be on its way by the end of the week.

“Leeds City Council is also working closely with head teachers to maximise effective targeting of the need for IT equipment for online learning after this provision has been cut by the Government. Alongside their approach to Free School Meals, this again, shows the Government’s lack of compassion towards vulnerable children.”

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“I would like to thank council staff for their hard work on this scheme and ask the Government to make good on their promise to properly fund the excellent work done by local authorities who continue to support our children and families during this difficult time.”

Last month the headteacher of a school in Leeds said he discovered his school’s laptop allocation had been cut from 61 to 13, following a communication from the Government it was changing the way it distributed resources to schools.

Chris Dyson, headteacher at Parklands Primary School in Seacroft said he logged on to the Department for Education (DfE) website on Friday evening after receiving an email about the number of laptops available for schools to distribute to students who may be forced to isolate due to a coronavirus outbreak at school.

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