Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of digital exclusion on (a) elderly and (b) disabled people who do not have a reliable internet connection.

Those who don’t have access to, or cannot use digital technologies, including older people and disabled people, are likely to pay more for certain transactions, have worse health outcomes, and find it more difficult to manage their finances. Knock-on effects of digital exclusion can include difficulty accessing essential services and isolation from their community.

That’s why in February, we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan which outlines the first five actions we are taking over the next year on digital inclusion. One of these actions was to launch the £9.5mn Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support and expand local community initiatives to get people online, which we did in August. All funded projects will support at least one of the focus demographic groups, which include older and disabled people.