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NEPO and Sunderland City Council have worked with their business travel supplier, Click Travel, to provide laptops, desktop computers and monitors for use by local schools.

In addition to the equipment donation, Click Travel will also be supporting Sunderland Software City in delivering training to the local community, foccused on employability skills.

The initiative is part of North East local authorities' commitment to delivering social value within public sector contracts, whereby contracted suppliers commit to additional activity that will benefit the local economy, environment and communities.

Liz St Louis, Director of Smart Cities at Sunderland City Council, explains further:

"We are incredibly grateful to Click Travel for their generous donation. The Council has worked with Sunderland Software City to identify 3 schools that will benefit from the new equipment including Southmoor Academy, The Link School and Venerable Bede. The staff and students are delighted to have been presented with the new tech, which will help them in their learning and development.

Access to technology and knowledge of how to use it are critical in today's digital world. By enabling young people to utilise this new equipment, we are opening up a world of opportunities for them to gain new skills and digital confidence."

Nicola Shelley, Managing Director at NEPO, added:

"NEPO and the North East local authorities want to ensure that every pound spent by the public sector, delivers extra value for the communities we serve. When NEPO appointed Click Travel as supplier to its travel services framework agreement, we also secured a commitment for social value delivery. It is fantastic to see this translated into real-life action that will help hundreds of children and young people."

Mark Oldfield, Framework Manager at Click Travel, said:

"Click Travel has been working closely with NEPO for a number of years now and social value has formed a key part of our parnership. We are delighted to be able to support the public sector in this way and it is fantastic to see the benefits that this will bring to schools and students in the North East."