Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the number of digitally excluded people resident in Hemsworth constituency; and what assessment she has made of the effects of digital exclusion on their capacity to bank online safely and effectively.

We do not hold data for the number of digitally excluded people resident in the Hemsworth constituency specifically, however the ONS statistical bulletin ‘Internet users in the UK: 2016’ (https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/itandinternetindustry/bulletins/internetusers/2016) indicates an estimated 10.9% of adults in the surrounding area of Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield had never used the internet or had last used the internet more than three months previously. This compares to an estimated 12% of adults in the UK who had never used the internet or had last used the internet more than three months previously.

The Government recognises the effect digital exclusion has on individuals and their ability to confidently use the internet, including their capacity to bank online safely and effectively. The Government is actively tackling the barriers to inclusion, working with cross-sector partners, including in the banking sector, to promote the financial, social, health and wellbeing benefits of being online. Some banks are directly addressing digital exclusion. For example, Lloyds and Barclays have trained their staff to support digitally excluded people.