Time to close the digital divide once and for all
Having described the need to tackle digital exclusion to the Science and Technology Committee, the Tinder Foundation’s Helen Milner welcomes its report today and awaits the Government’s Digital Strategy.
At Tinder Foundation, we were pleased to welcome the launch of the Science & Technology Committee’s report on the Digital skills crisis, that was published today.
I was lucky enough to be invited to give evidence to the committee, and I’m pleased to see that Tinder Foundation - the UK’s leading digital inclusion charity that I’m Chief Executive of - and some of our recommendations as an organisation - have been referenced in today’s report.
The report states that we need clear leadership and a clear vision from the Government’s Digital Strategy, due to be published soon. I agree wholeheartedly with this point. Without strong and consistent leadership, we won’t be able to realise the huge benefits of the internet, and most importantly as a nation we won’t be able to compete with other countries who are making huge strides to become fully digital. The report we published last year along with Go ON UK (now doteveryone) on the Economic Impact of Digital Skills revealed that there are economic benefits of over £14 billion if everyone were to get the digital skills they need. And with the Government making more and more services ‘digital by default’, they need to ensure that everyone has the skills they need to access them, and no-one is left behind.
We’re keen that the Government’s Digital Strategy also lays out an approved set of standards for digital skills - similar to those we already have for Maths and English - to ensure greater consistency across the sector, ensuring there is a shared understanding of what digital skills are.
The report takes a strong stand on digital exclusion, stating that ‘Digital Exclusion has no place in 21st Century Britain’ - a statement I strongly agree with. We’ve helped almost 1.9 million people to gain digital skills since 2010, but there is still much more to be done. There are still 12.6 million people in the UK who don’t have the basic digital skills they need, and they’re missing out on the huge benefits the internet can provide, from applying for work and being able to save money, through to keeping in touch with friends and family and having access to the wealth of information the internet can provide.
The report recognises the great work that corporate organisations can do to support digital inclusion initiatives, and particularly focuses on our partnership with Lloyds Banking Group which is already having significant impacts in supporting people to improve their digital skills. The commitment of organisations like Lloyds is key to ensuring we can close the digital divide once and for all.
Together with the UK online centres network we work with, and our other partners, we are making significant impacts on helping people to realise the positive benefits digital can provide. However, with current funding there is only so much we can do. We eagerly await the Government’s Digital Strategy, and hope this provides a clear commitment, and a plan of action, to meet the ambitions laid out in this report to make digital exclusion a thing of the past.
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