Free Computer & Internet Access for Children aged 7-14 of Low Income Families

dougalsteward

Yet, Another free item for those people who are getting everything free.

my wife and I pay for every thing and are stuck between those who have no problem affording everything those who have kids and it seems to generate even more more from the state.. for nothing.

Our approx tax credit is the princely sum of 26p a day .. if were were to apply for it!

bestpud

phanmale wrote: »

There are winners and losers. Ive read the thread arguments with interest as I am for and against nearly all of them due to the fact Ive been on both sides of the coin.

...adequate for 7-13 year olds to access the internet for their studies. (and for ranting single mums *and dads* to express themselves in forums )

I am a single mum and I have just (literally) increased my hours at work so cannot apply for one of these.

However, I am not allowing that disappointment to stop me seeing the benefits of the scheme for those children who have no internet access at home.

There is far more ranting from fellow working parents (single or not) who cannot see beyond their own 'misfortune'.

InDebted2U wrote: »

Finally, I would be grateful if you (or anyone) could clarify the following condition:

"…who attends a state-maintained school in England full time**?"

My son's school describes itself as "Church of England Voluntary Aided Comprehensive School", but he attends due to our catchment area rather than on a church place. Would families with children attending this school qualify for the grant (assuming they meet the other conditions)?

Yes, that is a state maintained school so he will qualify.

dougalsteward wrote: »

Our approx tax credit is the princely sum of 26p a day .. if were were to apply for it!

You are offered not far short of £100 a year and you can't be bothered to apply...?

But you would take the time to apply for a free computer?

hussaifa

dougalsteward wrote: »

Yet, Another free item for those people who are getting everything free.

my wife and I pay for every thing and are stuck between those who have no problem affording everything those who have kids and it seems to generate even more more from the state.. for nothing.

Our approx tax credit is the princely sum of 26p a day .. if were were to apply for it!

I have worked for the last 23 years (part time during A-levels and University), and full time at all other times aside from a couple of short unemployed periods. I am not yet 40!

Now I have not worked since March '09 - not through want of trying. My plan is to re-educate myself through self study (no point doing a real course over 16 hours as this will kill my benefits) and try get back to work, well in 6 months or maybe early 2011. Wife has always been housewife and 3 kids for me to support.

Winter payments, Home Access Grant and Boiler Scrappage Scheme are all godsends for me. I intend utilising all of these - no eBaying for me! (Boiler will be funded through loan from Job Centre - which they have provisionally agreed to - and it DOES have to be paid back).

I sympathise for those who do not qualify, but venting out here will not get you a free laptop! In any case, if you can't get this grant, there will be others you can and do get (and I cannot). If I could get £100 WTC /yr - I'd still apply for it! Pls do not take this personally

I really appreciate the employee coming on board and making all those comments - really has cleared up a lot of confusion.

In truth, its not enough, but then I don't really want to live in a nanny state. I want to be able to survive on what I have, strive to get better and then make hay while the sun is out - from my own efforts!

PC_Boy

3guesses wrote: »

Hi Home Access Worker, excellent to have someone who actually worked on the scheme posting here. I was wondering if you could answer a couple of queries I have:

1. Why is the internet access side of things restricted to wireless internet? I have had experience of this (specifically 3's 3G wireless broadband, which seems to be the main Home Access offering) and disappointing doesn't come close. I mean, "up to 3.6Mbps" in reality = average achieved internet speeds of a dial-up modem, and at peak times no service at all. And wired broadband can be provided VERY cheaply, eg. Plusnet £6 pcm, or even Talk Talk with its free broadband - both FAR CHEAPER than the £200 12-month wireless option. Wireless is an attractive solution on paper, but very poor in actuality IMHO. Much better to have the performance and reliability of a wired network, or at the very least have it as an option...
2. Again, why do the machines have to come bundled with unnecessary and bloated features: the software, the parental controls, the support, theft insurance, etc. This seems very much like buying an extended warranty for it, and we all know how little value for money they are. Again, make all of this OPTIONAL so that (a) people can spend money on what they need, (b) more retailers can take part and (c) the taxpayer can get better value for money.
3. Why restrict what people can buy with the grant money? If you give someone £400 to buy a computer, let them spend that £400 on the best, most suitable computer for them. This really smacks of Big Government/Nanny State. They can always choose to go for a "Home Access Approved" package if they want. As a techie, I could spec up a pretty fantastic computer system for £400 for a friend of mine who qualifies for the scheme, but instead she is limited to the frankly dross standard fare offered by a very select handful of suppliers. Who wins? The suppliers. Sorry, but I don't for one minute buy your line that they are not making much money out of this. Eg. Samsung N130: Centrprise (Home Access Program) = £375, eBuyer = £229.12. Mark-up = £130 (57%!!!), and you can bet eBuyer are making at least a half-decent profit at the £230 level. Hmmm... Admittedly, you do also get a rucksack and a USB mouse (24-carat solid gold, perhaps?) from Centerprise. Oh, and the 1-year theft cover - is this where all the extra money is actually going?

I would really appreciate a response from you to the above points. Also, do you know if the details of the scheme are up for review at any time and whether or not it is possible to submit suggestions for changes to it? As it stands, it seems a very blunt, inefficient, less-than-great-value-for-the-taxpayer, sledgehammer-like solution to an important issue (from Mr G Brown? Now there's a surprise!): it is crying out for the option for a great deal more sophistication.

Cheers,

3g

Sorry to but in but...

Answer to first question: Many low income households do not have a fixed line phone and so the cost of the service would have to be broadband and a phone line. It would ADD to the programme if a phone line had to be fitted and paid for each month. Added to that, low income families may run up bills that they can not afford and can become reliant upon it and after the 12 months is up, keep it on as an extra bill. It is possible in some cases that a low income family would not have a sufficient credit history to enabale an installation of a fixed line in any case. Suppliers are looking in to offering this service and may at some point offer it despite what I have said.
2 Some of the software is E-safety and is designed to keep children safe on line. If you get a quote for a Netintelligence filtering software license for three years alone, you will see that it far outweighs the higher price of the devices from the approved suppliers. Add to that Office type packages (£69.99 for MS Office in some cases) and other software including the assistive technology software (probably cost you £400+ if you bought it retail) and the deal is not so bad. Protecting children online is very important in my opinion.
3 If you let a grant recipient buy 'any' device and not an approved device then quality of the units would not be guaranteed. There would be trial software that encourages the owners (low income families), to part with extra money for Norton Anti Virus etc at £60+. These pacakged have been designed so there is no trial software installed - everything that is included is full version software, including in some cases MS Office. This would not be a 60 day trial and then the low income family is forced to buy it or find an alternative.

Most people who are eligible for this grant would most likely be greatful that they can help their childrens education and would not sell the device on Ebay etc. (some may, but it was few during the pilot stage). There are no hidden costs with this and if you look at feedback from Pilot, you will see that the majority of grant recipients were happy with their package. State aid prevents the suppliers makinmore than 10% profitt I think and it is all accountable and audited.

Hope that helps

popshard

hi I live in scotland and was wondering if there is simmilar grants for children

jasmineswhiskers

As a matter of interest to all the posts ranting about not having/desperately needing a computer - how have you actually managed to post on here in the first place?

Antispam

Oh there is some resentment on here isnt there?

Life isnt fair.

I see the big green eyed monster

Gunner76

3guesses wrote: »

3. Why restrict what people can buy with the grant money? If you give someone £400 to buy a computer, let them spend that £400 on the best, most suitable computer for them. As a techie, I could spec up a pretty fantastic computer system for £400 for a friend of mine who qualifies for the scheme, but instead she is limited to the frankly dross standard fare offered by a very select handful of suppliers. Samsung N130: Centrprise (Home Access Program) = £375, eBuyer = £229.12. Mark-up = £130 (57%!!!)

i couldnt agree more...
having price compared the available options for myself, i discovered that the same computers are being sold at upto £200 cheaper in other stores.
also, take a look at this comparison which gives an idea of what you could get for the money instead of whats being offered...

typical HomeAccessGrant PC:
CPU single core 1.60ghz
RAM 1 gb
HDD 160gb
Monitor 19" widescreen
Graphics onboard
Price £568

in comparison~ MESHcomputers.com:
CPU quad core 2.70ghz
RAM 4gb
HDD 500gb
Monitor 22" HD widescreen
Graphics 1gb HD dedicated graphics card
Price £499

also, all the 'extras' that are included in the HomeAccessGrant scheme, ie.. antivirus, office software, parental controls, etc.. these can all be acquired free online. so it isnt justified that these 'extras' should push the price up. windows comes with its own built in parental controls anyway. plus there are many good free antivirus programs available online. and openoffice is a good free alternative to microsoft office.

i know some of you will say "beggars cant be choosers" or whatever. but i cant understand why the government will allow themselves to be ripped off in this way. it makes no sense to me that they would prefer to pay £200 more for a computer than its actual value. or that they would prefer not to allow people to buy a computer that is cheaper and superior than the ones available on this scheme.

this scheme can be done so much cheaper than it is.

choccyness

I read about this grant from an email and thought great. I have 3 children (9,10,16)all needing to do homework on the computer plus I am a full time nursing student also needing the internet. Followed the link, checked the criteria and that's where it ended. Despite being a low income family (£240p/w) because my husband works more than 16 hours for this mount of money we receive working tax credit so arenot entitled to claim. It is the same with school dinners, we are several £1000s below the income threshold but you can only claim if you work less than 16 hours per week. Surely these things should be bsed on income not how long you have to work a day.

miamoo

I am not jealous I simply dont agree, whats wrong with using the free internet in the library? Thats what I had to do for years untill I could afford a computer.