To ask the Minister for Communities (i) for her assessment of the application process for free school meals being moved online; and (ii) to detail any issues that have arisen in light of digital poverty levels.

(i)The Education Authority (EA) is responsible for the administration of applications for Free School Meals and Uniform Grants and from 7 June 2021 the application process for the academic year 2021/22 has moved online. In keeping with the EA's digital first policy the aim is to streamline and shorten the process and make it easier for parents to apply and is to be welcomed. Where the EA has introduced online services for parents uptake is consistently above 98%.

Paper application forms continue to be available for applicants who do not have digital access. To assist parents in completing their application, the EA is operating a helpdesk Monday - Friday 9.00am to 4.30pm (tel: 02890 418044 or email: mealsanduniform@eani.org.uk).

(ii) My predecessor had invested significantly in education technology to help those pupils in need access the necessary IT equipment to assist with their remote learning as a response to the pandemic. To support schools’ delivery of remote learning, funding has been provided to the Education Authority (EA) to continue to improve the services available through C2k, including upgrades to software, the addition of a number of learning applications and upgrading schools’ bandwidth, in particularly low bandwidth areas.

As a system, we are significantly better prepared and equipped to deliver remote learning than we were previously and the stated improvements have enabled us to meet the technology challenges faced.