Peers stung taxpayer for nearly £100k of laptops and iPads to work from home

PEERS stung the taxpayer for nearly £100,000 of laptops and iPads to work from home during the pandemic.

But thousands of children are still waiting on theirs to do their lessons.

Parliament dished out 111 pricey devices to House of Lords members.

It came as it emerged that 500,000 of 1.3million cheaper laptops promised to needy pupils had not arrived.

Ex-Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said: “The rapid speed and scale at which the Government have provided technology for Parliamentarians to work from home contrasts massively with the sluggish and utterly half-hearted approach they’ve taken to giving our young people the resources they need to keep pace with their studies.

“Yet again the Government have got their priorities completely wrong.

“Our children are our country’s future – they deserve better than this.”

A spokesman for the House of Lords said last night: “The House of Lords provides the necessary IT equipment for Members to do their job.

“This is no different to many other workplaces.

“The move to hybrid and virtual proceedings means many Members are now holding the government to account remotely, in line with public health guidance, and a number will have required extra IT equipment to do that.”

Equipment such as laptops, headsets and iPads have been essential tools to allow Members to ask 440 oral questions to Government, hold more than 600 Committee meetings and discuss 2,200 changes to legislation since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.”