A new £9.5m government fund is being launched to help tackle digital inequality across the UK, including workshops to familiarise people with tech and schemes donating devices like phones and laptops to the digitally excluded, all led by local councils and charities.
The Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund will help more people get online, drive economic growth and raise living standards, as part of the Plan for Change.
Funding will be delivered in partnership with the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – building on local knowledge and expertise.
Digital exclusion is holding many people back and tackling it is critical to driving growth, which is at the heart of the government’s Plan for Change.
Research suggests that 7.9m adults across the UK lack basic digital skills, while 1.6m people live offline altogether, locked out from some of the basic opportunities that modern life offers, from mastering essential digital skills for work – like setting up an email account and sharing files.
The recently launched Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund will help tackle these issues and get more people online.
In England, local government, charities and research organisations can apply for funding worth £25,000 to £500,000 to help boost digital inclusion and skills in their local areas.
The devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will determine their own arrangements for the distribution of funding to best support local digital inclusion initiatives.
This follows June’s launch of the IT Reuse for Good charter, where organisations can pledge to donate devices to the digitally excluded.
Jane Hutt, Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice said: “This new funding from the UK government will build on the progress we’ve made over the past decade, helping to further our lead with our Digital Strategy for Wales and support the aim to support people to meet the minimum digital living standard.”
