Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 17 September 2025 to Question 76118 on Digital Technology: Older People, what recent steps her Department has taken to help tackle the impact of digital exclusion on elderly people.

Tackling digital exclusion, which disproportionately impacts certain demographics including older people, is a priority for Government.

That is why 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 includes older people. Applications will be notified of the outcome in late October, as outlined in the key dates section of the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund - GOV.UK.