Supporting End Digital Poverty Day
techUK is keen to support this campaign, spearheaded by the Digital Poverty Alliance, that looks at raising awareness and taking practical action to eradicate digital poverty.
- 1 in 5 children home schooling during the pandemic did not have access to an appropriate device like a laptop.
- 26% of young people do not have access to a laptop or similar device.
- 53% of people offline cannot afford an average monthly broadband bill.
- 2.5 million people are behind on their broadband bills.
We fundamentally believe that digital is essential utility. Everyone should be able to access, have the infrastructure, and digital skills and confidence to use tech safely.
The pandemic made us all more aware of the digital divide. Some initial progress was made in response, but we must go much further to address the determinants of digital poverty.
#EndDigitalPovertyDay means not only spreading awareness of the damage digital exclusion can do, but also the impact inclusion services can have. techUK recently provided evidence to the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee on digital exclusion and the cost of living.
In 2014, techUK called for delivery of a ‘digital for everyone’ inclusion strategy by 2020, to ensure that all UK adults have the basic digital skills required to communicate, find goods and services and access information online. Since we are beyond 2020, it's clear we need further collective recognition to get everyone up to the digital start line and motived to keep building their digital capability. techUK and the tech industry has considered this issue for some time. Together, we can ensure this issue is put at the forefront of the government's agenda.
We are keen to celebrate today with specific calls to action for government from our UK Tech Plan:
Please get in touch to share what you or your organisation is doing to end digital poverty today!
Authors
Nimmi Patel
Nimmi works on all things skills, education, and future of work policy, focusing on upskilling and retraining. Nimmi is also an Advisory Board member of Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (digit). The Centre research aims to increase understanding of how digital technologies are changing work and the implications for employers, workers, job seekers and governments.