Government Digital Inclusion Strategy

 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-digital-inclusion-strategy/government-digital-inclusion-strategy

Digital accessibility doesn’t appear to factor in this in an obvious way.

Executive summary

This strategy sets out how government and partners from the public, private and voluntary sectors will increase digital inclusion. This means helping people become capable of using and benefiting from the internet


Helping more people to go online can also help tackle wider social issues, support economic growth and close equality gaps.

This strategy says how we will work over the next 2 years to reduce the number of people without basic digital skills and capabilities by a quarter. At that point, we will review our approach to ensure we are on course to have everyone who can be online by 2020.

We believe that just under 10% of the adult population may never be able to gain basic digital capabilities, because of disabilities or basic literacy skills. Our approach to assisted digital will provide support to anyone who cannot access government’s digital services independently.

Through our user research and consultation, we have identified 4 main kinds of challenge that people face to going online:

  • access - the ability to actually go online and connect to the internet
  • skills - to be able to use the internet
  • motivation - knowing the reasons why using the internet is a good thing
  • trust - a fear of crime, or not knowing where to start to go online

Digital inclusion is about overcoming all of these challenges, not just one. Equally, with so many challenges, government cannot address this alone. The government and its partners already do a lot to help promote digital inclusion. But this is not joined up enough and having the impact it needs to.

What this strategy is about

Digital inclusion, or rather, reducing digital exclusion, is about making sure that people have the capability to use the internet to do things that benefit them day to day - whether they be individuals, SMEs or VCSE organisations.

Digital inclusion is often defined in terms of:

  • Digital skills - being able to use computers and the internet. This is important, but a lack of digital skills is not necessarily the only, or the biggest, barrier people face.
  • Connectivity - and access to the internet. People need the right infrastructure but that is only the start.
  • Accessibility - services should be designed to meet all users’ needs, including those dependent on assistive technology to access digital services. Accessibility is a barrier for many people, but digital inclusion is broader.

Each of these definitions addresses a single specific barrier that some, but not all, people and organisations face. There is seldom just one reason why people are digitally excluded, and there is no single approach to solving it.

Digital inclusion is about overcoming all of these challenges, not just one. Equally, with so many challenges, government cannot address digital exclusion alone.

The actions in this strategy are about addressing the barriers that have stopped people going online until now and backing initiatives that will make things better.

How the strategy was developed

The Digital Inclusion Strategy has been developed around the needs of users, people who do not have the capability to use the internet.

People

#Digital services are becoming the default option for accessing public services, information, entertainment and each other. In 2013, 36 million adults (73%) in Britain accessed the internet every day. Those who are offline and not capable of using the internet risk missing out on the benefits that the internet can offer.

Action 4. Agree a common definition of digital skills and capabilities

There are no common, agreed definitions of digital skills and capabilities. These differ according to context, depending on whether you are an individual, SME or VCSE organisation. This makes it confusing for people taking their first steps online to be confident that what they are learning is right. It also makes it difficult for people helping others go online be sure of what things people need to know - many of which we take for granted. This also means that by having a common definition we can measure the same thing and understand collectively how we are doing in our efforts to reduce digital exclusion.

Accessibility

When something is accessible, it means it’s usable by everyone. Accessible web content and technology gives everyone equal access to information so they can use services fully. This is really important if we’re going to reduce digital exclusion. Digital services must be compatible with the tools some disabled people use, like screen readers or Braille software. It’s illegal to make public services online inaccessible to disabled users. One of many organisations working to make the web more accessible is AbilityNet. 


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