UK digital divide is widening

Efforts to bridge the digital divide with disadvantaged classes in the UK are failing, according to a new report.

The ground-breaking Understanding Digital Inclusion, from Freshminds, brings together information from more than 80 sources, says the number of digitally disadvantaged people has hardly changed since 2004,  

It says 75 per cent of people counted as socially excluded are also digitally excluded, by not having the benefits or opportunities that computers and Internet access can bring. Not only is the divide widening, but deepening, according to the report, with those "stuck on the wrong side" more deeply excluded and harder to reach than ever before.

"I believe this report is a comprehensive view of what 'digital divide' actually means in 2007," said Helen Milner, managing director of UK Online Centres. "It's a term we've been bandying about for a while, but it's more relevant and more urgent today then at any time in the last ten years.

"Technology is opening new doors and new worlds for 61 per cent of the population, connecting them to better paid jobs, instant information, new forms of communication and social interaction, community infrastructures, government services, consumer power and convenience. But for a stable 39 per cent, those benefits remain firmly out of reach. And it's unacceptable those already at a disadvantage are three times more likely to be the ones missing out."

There are around 6,000 UK online centres, which provide free or low cost access to the Internet and email, deliver online courses and encourage people to progress onto further learning. Two thirds of those using the centres are from the most deprived wards in the country and half of all visitors are unemployed.

The report will be launched officially on July 10 and has already been used by the government in formulating its forthcoming Digital Strategy Review.

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