The House of Lords' Digital and Communications Committee has just released their report on Digital Exclusion. techUK gave both written and spoken evidence to the inquiry.
The report has come as a result of the cost of living crisis. It outlines the current state of digital exclusion in the UK, active measures to combat digital exclusion, and recommendations for building on these actions in future.
The report recognised much had been done by Government and the industry to extend connectivity to the entire UK and teach digital skills. This includes the Project Gigabit rollout, where Government is connecting otherwise commercially unviable areas, and the National Device Bank run by the Good Things Foundation, which seeks to provide refurbished devices to those who could not afford them.
The report argued though that there was a need for a unified strategy in Whitehall to combat digital exclusion, instead of just specific policies. This would also include expanding programmes to bring sufficient connectivity, affordable internet, basic digital skills and devices to access the internet to ensure that nobody is left digitally excluded by circumstances beyond their control.
Closing the digital divide will lead to the following
- A reduction in the estimated £63 billion cost to the UK of digital skill shortages
- A reduction in the number of needed GP appointments through online diagnoses, saving £899 millio
- An improvement in the productivity and growth of the UK's poorest areas, with the £780 million Government investment in superfast broadband rollout from 2012 to 2016 having already created 49,000 jobs and increased business turnover in targeted areas by £9 billion a year
- Greater competitiveness for UK workers internationally, with every £1 invested in digital skills estimated to bring in a return of £9.48 in 2032.
- Improvements in democratic inclusion through increasing accessibility to online debates and photo ID applications.
techUK's view
techUK is glad to see the report recognised the success of existing projects, such as Project Gigabit, but that there also needs to be a cross-departmental digital exclusion strategy in Whitehall. The report quoted our Deputy CEO, Antony Walker, who argued to the committee that there was a need for leadership in Whitehall and that “we have bits and pieces of policy, but we do not have a strategy”.
Furthermore, the report concurred with techUK's evidence in suggesting a crucial need to improve digital skills, especially the idea that the UK faces a serious gap in basic digital skills that the Government needs to do more to improve. techUK's evidence pointed out that local, targeted interventions, rather than top-down programmes, are best able to reach the digitally excluded, and it's good to see the report agrees that these community-based interventions are crucial.
The report recommends that a strategy be drawn up as soon as possible and that the Government should work with the private sector to further their own schemes for digital inclusion, such as older device donation and skills training.
techUK stands ready as a willing partner to facilitate this co-operation, and we look forward to working with Government, the tech sector and civil society to close the digital divide.