House of Lords Communications and Digital Select Committee inquiry ‘Digital exclusion and the cost of living’
Digital Inclusion Alliance Wales is pleased to have been invited to provide oral evidence to the House of Lords Communications and Digital Select Committee on Tuesday 14th March to assist its inquiry into digital exclusion and the cost of living crisis. This written submission is provided as a supporting statement to that oral evidence.
Digital Inclusion Alliance Wales: about us
Digital Inclusion Alliance Wales (DIAW) https://www.digitalcommunities.gov.wales/digital-inclusion-alliance-wales/ was established in September 2021 as part of the Welsh Government’s award of grant funding for a national digital inclusion programme “Digital Communities Wales: Digital Confidence, Health and Well-being”.
DIAW brings together organisations from across Wales that are working to make Wales a digitally-inclusive nation. With over 90 members, the Alliance comprises public and third sector organisations, private sector companies and also academia, all focused on ensuring that everyone who wants to in Wales can access and use digital tools and technologies in their everyday lives and has the confidence to do so.
The Digital Communities Wales (DCW): Digital Confidence, Health and Well-being programme is funded jointly and equally by Welsh Government’s Prosperous Futures Division and the Health and Social Services Division with £2M annually and is delivered by Cwmpas (formerly Wales Cooperative Centre) in collaboration with The Good Things foundation and Swansea University. Initially a three-year initiative delivered between July 2019 and June 2022, DCW which was then extended for a further three years to June 2025 in support of Digital Strategy Wales (2021). This programme aims to reduce digital exclusion and help improve basic digital skills levels across Wales.
Digital Inclusion Alliance Wales: purpose and priorities
Establishing a Digital Inclusion Alliance was a key part of the proposal by Cwmpas to secure the funding for the current DCW programme. The underpinning principle was that no one organisation or programme would be able to end digital exclusion in Wales on its own and that it has to become ‘everyone’s business’. Whilst digital inclusion work was being done all over Wales by many different types of organisations and community groups, there was nothing bringing them all together. Cwmpas wanted to create a space, a Network, where anyone and everyone who was helping to include citizens digitally in Wales could come together to share their challenges and successes; to find out about and influence policy and strategy, and to forge collaborations and partnerships to better utilise resources. The expectation was that greater impact could be achieved through co-ordination and sharing of good practice.
DIAW has five key priority areas to focus our actions and discussions. These are set out in our agenda for digital inclusion: From Inclusion to Resilience” which has just been updated in a 2nd Edition (https://www.digitalcommunities.gov.wales/from-inclusion-to-resilience-2nd-edition/). These priorities are:
Priority 1 - Embedding digital inclusion across all sectors
Priority 2 - Mainstreaming digital inclusion in health and social care
Priority 3 - Addressing data poverty as a key issue
Priority 4 – Prioritising essential digital skills for work and life in the economy
Priority 5 - Implementing a new minimum digital living standard
Cost of living and digital exclusion
Even in the short time since the launch of DIAW in September 2021, the landscape of digital inclusion has changed significantly in Wales. Encouragingly the National Survey for Wales 2022 (https://www.gov.wales/national-survey-wales) found that 93% of adults said they used the internet in 2021/22: up from 90% in 2019/20. However, as more and more of our lives and public services are online, it is vitally important that we ensure that everyone in our communities has the skills and resources to use the internet confidently and safely. As our communities recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, new economic and social challenges lie ahead. The cost of living crisis continues to deepen across the country, and people are having to make difficult choices about how they spend their money. This makes our work in the five priority areas even more crucial. It is vital that the work to create inclusive and resilient communities is maintained and accelerated.
Covid-19 exposed the already prevalent and growing issue of data poverty in Welsh society. Research by Nesta in 2020 (https://www.nesta.org.uk/report/what-data-poverty/) shone a light on the issue, with the conclusion that more research and a greater policy focus was needed. Since the launch of DIAW, there has been a growth in awareness of the problem and the challenges it creates and more interventions focused on reducing it. However, the cost of living crisis that is hitting Welsh communities means that the issue is far from being solved and is, in fact, worsening (Public Health Wales 2022 ‘Cost of Living Crisis: a public health emergency’ https://phw.nhs.wales/news/cost-of-living-crisis-a-public-health-emergency/).
DIAW has sought to raise awareness of the issue with key stakeholders and partners. Addressing data poverty was a focus for a recent DIAW Network meeting. With contributions from Alliance members, Big Issue, Displaced People in Action, Swansea Music Art Digital and Monmouthshire Housing Association highlighting the different ways in which people experience data poverty, and how it impacts their lives and opportunities; and also the support which is available - but often not widely used or known about.
At a UK level, Ofcom has published a series of reports on affordability of communications services, including broadband and mobile data; and strengthened guidance on ‘treating vulnerable consumers fairly’. It is encouraging to see Ofcom reporting on this matter, and we would like to see them continue to strengthen its role as a regulator in this area; reporting on social tariff take-up and households that are disconnected.
DIAW members have helped Good Things Foundation to produce a practical and short guide for local charities and organisations on ‘Supporting people with data connectivity’ (https://www.goodthingsfoundation.org/data-poverty-lab/supporting-people-with-data-connectivity-broadband-and-mobile-data/). The guide fills a gap in information and aims to help local charities and organisations know how they can support people experiencing data poverty. Several Alliance members contributed to the drafting to ensure that the guide is clear and useful and are now promoting it through their own networks.
DIAW members Good Things Foundation (through its National Device Bank) and Computer Recyclers UK provide services which recycle and refurbish I.T. equipment and then distribute it to people in need through organisations. We encourage all DIAW members to donate to these services when they are replacing I.T. equipment across their organisations. These services contribute to a more sustainable solution to digital exclusion as well as to the circular economy.
Public spaces such as libraries and community centres continue to provide internet access for those unable to afford it otherwise. Digital Communities Wales and Good Things Foundation support many of the public spaces in Wales which provide this service and many of the services themselves are DIAW members. The closing of public spaces such as these disproportionately impacts those who are already excluded.
Alliance members work closely with the Welsh Government to raise awareness of available support such as discounted social tariffs and the National Databank - so that take up within Wales increases, particularly in the context of the current cost of living crisis and pressures on household bills.
Given the extremely challenging economic environment for communities in Wales, addressing data poverty needs to have even greater priority than before. More research in this area is required to truly understand the circumstances of people who are digitally excluded due to data poverty. The work being funded by Welsh Government to define a Minimum Digital Living Standard in Wales (Priority 5 in our Agenda), is being conducted by researchers in partnership with Alliance members and citizens. The Alliance is very well placed to act in this way because it is cross-sector, with organisations big and small across the country.
The creation of the MDLS (https://www.gov.wales/towards-welsh-minimum-digital-living-standard-final-report-summary-html) will necessitate further research and understanding of the complex issues which contribute to households falling below that minimum and suffering from data poverty in Wales.
As well as this short-term promotion of what is already available to help communities through the challenging period ahead, the Alliance will continue to be a network and platform for developing further, long term, sustainable Welsh solutions to data poverty.
Digital Inclusion Alliance Wales: key outcomes regarding data poverty
• Internet access is recognised as an essential utility in Wales, with Ofcom continuing to strengthen its role as a regulator in its reporting and in its support for vulnerable customers, groups and communities.
• There is co-ordinated, collaborative promotion of available support such as discounted social tariffs for broadband and mobile data and the National Databank.
• There is free public provision of safe and easy to use WiFi, and community-based support for digital inclusion across all areas of Wales.
• Cross-sector collaboration continues to research and design long term, sustainable solutions to data poverty with a specific focus on Wales.
• There should be free and equal access to public services for all people in Wales. Work should be undertaken to allow the current zero-rating of some public sector websites to be extended to all digital public service websites and apps and they should be designed to minimise data usage as much as possible.
Digital Inclusion Alliance Wales: future plans
DIAW plans to continue its work, sharing with each other, looking at good practice from within Wales and from other nations, fostering collaboration and partnerships, working across sectors and organisations, and creating an environment where digital inclusion is the key to good services and a better quality of life for the people of Wales. The times ahead are challenging but the Alliance will strive to ensure that digital inclusion continues to have a high profile for Welsh Government and for organisations across Wales and that it continues to establish itself as an effective and independent voice for digital inclusion in Wales.
7 March 2023
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