UKCF welcomes the Government's Digital Inclusion Action Plan

The Government has announced The Digital Inclusion Action Plan, which will include new funding to help local and combined authorities to tackle digital exclusion.

The 5 actions set out in the Digital Inclusion Action Plan are:

1. Local-level support: Launch a new Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support local community initiatives to get people online.

2. Skills: Enhance the support for the framework that helps people and businesses get the essential skills they need to get online safely and with confidence.

3. Devices: Pilot a proof-of-concept multi-department device donation scheme with the Digital Poverty Alliance to provide re-purposed government laptops to those that need them.

4. Accessible government services: Make government digital services easier to use with a renewed focus on digital inclusion, for example by improving the whole experience for users and increasing the number of services that use GOV.UK One Login.

5. Evidence: Measure what works on digital inclusion, identify where the need is greatest, and establish the economic and social value of upskilling adults with digital skills.

According to the Government, 1.6 million people in the UK still do not have the devices, connection or skills to get online.  UKCF began working more closely with communities to improve digital inclusion at the start of the pandemic, five years ago, to understand the digital gaps, upskill community organisations and donate devices to individuals who needed them.  The pandemic and following financial crisis have highlighted the importance of technology, exposing the areas of society where digital exclusion is most prevalent.

Our Digital Inclusion programme with Cellnex UK has since supported digital skills, accessibility and connectivity for individuals and communities in Cornwall, Gloucestershire, York, Wales, the West Midlands and Lincolnshire, to ensure people are not left behind as technology advances.  This year, funding is supporting digital inclusion in London and Bristol, but UKCF recognises there is still much to be done at a local level. Learn more here about the partnership so far.

Responding to the news of the action plan, UKCF’s CEO, Emma De Closset, said:

“We welcome the focus on reaching those communities who need digital inclusion support the most, something that we at UK Community Foundations feel passionately about.

“Through evaluation and feedback from our funded groups and local charities, we have learned a lot about the gaps in digital support and ongoing challenges that lots of people are experiencing. We look forward to sharing our insights with the Government as it makes plans for the new Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund and welcome the Government’s call for evidence from the sector to drive meaningful change.”

You can find details about The Digital Inclusion Action Plan here.

Add your voice and insights to the plan before 11.55pm on Wednesday 9^th April 2025.