What was once no more than an ill-considered, back-of-envelope idea backed by economic think tank research is to implemented as UK government policy.

As part of the Home Access scheme, free laptop computers are to be given to school students from poor backgrounds, with a focus on children in local authority care, and those with special educational needs. A government-commissioned study carried out by the Institute of Fiscal Studies suggested that having a networked computer at home could lead to a two grade improvement in one school subject at age 16.

Few would challenge the view that access to online information is a very good thing, and that some families are handicapped in this respect through lack of funds. But the numbers simply don’t add up. The market is currently flooded with cheap netbooks, and hardware costs are an issue only for a tiny minority. Internet access and support costs are more significant, yet the government will only fund broadband subscriptions for one year.

Why is the government spending £300 million on this scheme at a time when very many schools and colleges reveals are seeing cuts in their IT budgets? Would it not be better to focus on guided learning that integrates information technology into the curriculum?

I wouldn’t be surprised if many of these free and no doubt low-specification laptops end up on eB*y and the like. Even before the end of the year of free broadband, when the children find there is little they can do with the machines without costly additional software and instructional material that isn’t part of the package. As any IT professional will tell you, “It’s all about the support, stupid!”.