Device Access

The Device Access Scheme is delivered by Kent County Council's Digital Inclusion & Capabilities service (Digital Kent), providing digitally excluded residents with access to digital devices (laptops). This scheme is currently running in a pilot phase in Swale, Thanet, Ashford and Maidstone district and is professional referral only.

Submit a referral to the Device Access Scheme

If you need help, you can see if we have the answer on this page, otherwise get in touch with us via the details below.

Email: deviceaccess@kent.gov.uk
Telephone: 03000 410950

About the Device Access Scheme

The Device Access Scheme provides Kent residents with the gift of a device (a laptop) with no requirement to return it.

You can refer someone as a professional using the referral form. Applications will be individually assessed against:

the eligibility criteria
the reasons for referral

If your application is successful, on collection you will be gifted with a device (a laptop) with no requirement to return it.

Important guidance for professionals

Applications to the scheme are only open to approved professionals. If you are not a recognised referrer under this iteration of the Device Access Scheme, you can apply to be considered for professional referrer status here

Please note this scheme is made possible due to grant funding and in order to be compliant your organisation must not be able to provide devices through existing funding.

Gaining client's consent

If you are referring someone into the scheme as a professional, you are responsible for obtaining consent and ensuring that the client has read and understood our privacy notice

Due to the nature of the personal information that we are processing or could be processing, we require evidence of consent from clients when completing the form. Failure to do this will mean the application form cannot be submitted. A link to the consent form can be found here. It will need to be printed, wet signed, scanned and attached to your application via the form.

Number of referrals that can be submitted by any one referrer

A maximum of five referrals can be made by any one professional during a seven-day rolling period.

The process for the Device Access Scheme

Once we have received an application, we will individually assess against the eligibility criteria, this usually takes around 15 working days. During busier periods, it may take longer for us to assess. We will provide email notification informing the resident and the professional of our decision.

Once approved, the device can be collected by the approved resident or an alternative collector from the nominated collection point.

The laptops will include instructions on usage and are supported with up to 12 months warranty provided via Bytes Digital.

There is no requirement to return the device.

Following receipt of your device we will keep in touch to find out how you are getting on and whether there is anything we can do to support you. This is really important in gathering the evidence of our impact, so we can continue the work we do - we would be grateful for your support in responding to any requests.

Eligibility Criteria

Group A: Financial Hardship 

To be eligible for this criteria group beneficiaries must: 

be digitally excluded 
not have access to a laptop or home computer 
be aged 18 or over 
be a permanent Kent resident, residing in one of the 12 local authorities covered by Kent County Council (this excludes Medway, Bexley and Bromley), 
be in receipt of means tested benefits or have a household income below £33,000 per annum before tax

Group B: Veterans 

To be eligible for this criteria group beneficiaries must: 

be digitally excluded 
be aged 11 or over 
be a permanent Kent resident, residing in one of the 12 local authorities covered by Kent County Council (this excludes Medway, Bexley and Bromley), 
be a veteran or a direct relative of a veteran within the same household

Group C: Education 

To be eligible for this criteria group beneficiaries must:

be digitally excluded
not have access to a laptop or home computer
be aged 11 to 18 (or up to 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan [EHCP])
be a permanent Kent resident, residing in one of the 12 local authorities covered by Kent County Council (this excludes Medway, Bexley and Bromley)
be in a household with an income below £33,000 per annum before tax
have been taken out of education for valid reasons explained in your application, and be actively engaged or have a willingness to actively engage with Kent County Council's Education Support Service(s)
be in education or training and meet one of the following:

have a special educational need or disability
be eligible for free school meals
be eligible for pupil premium funding
be a young carer

OR have been taken out of education for valid reasons explained in your application, and be actively engaged or have a willingness to actively engage with Kent County Council's Education Support Service(s)

Group D: Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) 

To be eligible for this criteria group beneficiaries must: 

be digitally excluded  
not have access to a laptop or home computer 
be in a household with an income below £33,000 per annum before tax 
be aged 16 to 18 (or up to 25 with an EHCP) 
be a permanent Kent resident, residing in one of the 12 local authorities covered by Kent County Council (this excludes Medway, Bexley and Bromley) 
be out of education, employment or training and actively engaged or have a willingness to actively engage with KCC’s NEET Support Service

Further Support

Please find below Bytes guides to using your device.

Setting Up Your Dell Latitude 5410

Warranty Information

Connecting to Wi-Fi

Locking, Sleeping and Shutting Down

Adjusting Display, Sound and Accessibility

If you need further support in using your device, please check out our Digital Hubs.

Our Digital Hubs are delivered by Kent County Council's Digital Inclusion & Capabilities service (Digital Kent), we are delivering over 30 Local Digital Hubs across the county to enable residents to access support to become, and/or remain, digitally included and engaged. These Hubs are monthly for two hours, with 30-minute bookable slots.

To book onto a session, please visit Digital Hubs or call us at 03000 410950

If you need further support on connectivity solutions, our Connectivity Access Scheme provides digitally excluded residents with access to free connectivity solutions for a specific time frame.

For more information, please visit Connectivity Access Scheme or call us at 03000 410950

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)

The definition of digital exclusion in the context of the Device Access Scheme is essentially an individual not able to use digital technologies, particularly the internet, due to the lack of access to a device and as a beneficiary of this scheme, it could enhance their lives and contribute to them overcoming other disadvantages which they might face.

The quality of the decision is based on the quality of the referral. The best way is to provide detailed context around the client, their circumstances and how receiving a device could help them overcome challenges that they currently face. As our stock of devices is limited and we want to be able to support those residents in the most need, please ensure that a full and valid reason for referral is included. All referrals are assessed by a human, although we may use automation for routine tasks, like the email updates.

Examples of detailed reasons are what the beneficiary will use the device for; how it will benefit them now and in the future; whether they already have any devices available to them either at home or within local facilities they can use; which eligibility criteria they meet and how they meet the digitally excluded criteria; any specific employment outcomes they may achieve; how it would improve their current life, wellbeing and financial position; what they would use the laptop for. Such details must be included with every application.

For the Education Pathway, details can be included such as: what year they are in and what subjects the laptop will support with; whether they have any siblings who would also benefit from the laptop, the financial situation of the family and why a laptop cannot be acquired elsewhere, details of any homeschooling and the plans in place to ensure learning continues, if the young person is engaged with any KCC teams, details of any EHCP or educational frameworks put in place that a laptop would support with. Such details must be included with every application.

If we receive reasons that are limited and with little detail, then applications that are made on behalf of your clients are more likely to be declined, as we are unable to make an informed decision due to lack of information. Please do not use copy and paste reasons for referrals, as this again gives us little to work from to ensure we are maximising the benefit of the scheme. Please note that we check all applications we receive for AI generated reasons and outcomes. The more personal effort put in to an application, and in-depth details of the need of the client, the better chances of acceptance.

Universal Credit
Jobseekers' Allowance
Employment and Support Allowance
Pension Credit
Housing Benefit
Council Tax Support
Personal Independent Payments
Disability Living Allowance

In exceptional circumstances, yes, we do. However, we make an assessment on a case-by-case basis. It is worth providing as much detailed context around the client, their circumstances and how receiving a device could help them and others in the household overcome challenges that they currently face. As our stock of devices is limited and we want to be able to support those residents in the most need, please ensure that a full and valid reason for referral is included.

Yes. Professionals must ensure that the beneficiary being referred into the scheme are aware that the device is being provided by Kent County Council's Digital Kent team, that they understand our privacy policy and that they will be contacted for monitoring and evaluation purposes.

We currently do not provide mobile phones as part of any of our schemes. If you need help with a sim card, please visit the Connectivity Access Scheme.

The device provided will be a laptop, specifically, a DELL Latitude 5410 Ci5 10th Gen 16GB 256SSD or similar. This will also come with a power adaptor and a bag.

Devices will run on the Windows operating system, with no other software installed. If you require specialist accessibility software, please get in touch with us.

If you require Microsoft Office products, you can go to office.com and sign up for the free version of Microsoft 365.

If you require Google Doc products, you can go to google.com/docs/about and sign up for free.

Each device gifted by the Device Access Scheme is supplied with up to 12-months warranty covering hardware components and supplied peripherals. This warranty applies to manufacturing defects and functional failures under normal use.

For any issues that are not covered by the warranty, we are unfortunately unable to support with.

For more information, please see Bytes Warranty Information guide.

Digital Kent will be able to help residents that need digital support. For more information, please visit Digital Hubs

If you have said you are happy to be contacted for evaluation purposes, we may be in touch with you to ask how the device has improved your circumstances.

Emails can be sent to deviceaccess@kent.gov.uk including your reference number in the subject line. You can also contact us by telephone on 03000 410 950.

Once approved, the device can be collected by the approved resident or an alternative collector from the nominated collection point. There will be set times/days that the laptop can be collected. ID will also need to be brought to confirm identity.

If you are unable to get to the location, your alternative collector will be responsible for the collection of the device. If you did not provide an alternative collector during the application or need to change it, you can email us at deviceaccess@kent.gov.uk

The device will be held up to 30 working days at the nominated collection point. If you do not collect your laptop within this timeframe and you do not let us know why you are unable to attend, your application will be closed and your data will be removed from our systems. A new application will then need to be submitted by your referrer.

We accept the following ID’s