Laptops no longer needed by Tendring District Council (TDC) have been given to groups to support their work in the community.

The devices, which are redundant for council work, are wiped of all data and serviced by Ardleigh-based firm Mercury Maynard before being gifted out to help those in the local area.

Earlier batches of laptops had been given to schools to support home learning during Covid-19 lockdowns, while the latest tranche of tech is going to various community groups – with the council’s Digital Access Support Team, a joint service with Colchester City Council and the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board, working to identify with and help those groups get the most from the devices.

So far TDC has donated 79 laptops and 13 tablets as part of the scheme.

Peter Kotz, TDC Cabinet Member for Assets, said it was good to see the laptops being put to use in this way.

“While these devices may have reached the end of their life for our purposes, they are still in good working order and suitable for re-use rather than seeing them to go waste,” Councillor Kotz said.

“It is fantastic seeing them being put to use to support our local community to help people learn new skills, or even live independently by way of digital networks such as home shopping and banking.”

One such group to benefit from the devices is RAMA – Refugee Action, a community interest company which supports refugees and displaced people across north Essex, which has received 20 laptops from TDC.

Maria Wilby, Director of RAMA – Refugee Action, added: “These laptops will support clients with profound disabilities in a residential facility in Clacton to access services which they would otherwise struggle to get to, and will be a great help to them.”