What steps is the Welsh Government taking to prevent digital exclusion?
Digital is now part of our day-to-day lives and for those who are not online or who face barriers to maintaining digital engagement, this is a cause of inequality.
Addressing digital exclusion requires the support of many groups and individuals as we design, develop and deliver preventative interventions. We want to help motivate people who are digitally-excluded to use the internet and to help them understand the personal benefits that digital technologies can have on and in their lives.
The Digital Strategy for Wales, a Programme for Government commitment, sets out our aim to support everyone to gain the confidence and basic digital skills needed to make informed decisions and choose how they can participate in, and make the most of, our increasingly digital world.
We will work to ensure that no one is left behind as we embrace a digital first approach and digital inclusion will be at the heart of all we deliver.
Digital inclusion is outlined as Mission Two in the strategy and, as the accompanying delivery plan sets out, we will continue to engage with people with lived experiences and undertake research to understand the barriers which persist. We know this will help us better understand the focus for our interventions going forward and tailor support accordingly.
Through work to explore a minimum digital living standard, our aim is to define a measure, which can be used across Wales by all sectors to determine the level of support someone needs to become digitally confident – a minimum requirement for someone to engage digitally on a day-to-day basis.
Becoming ‘digitally confident’ is a continuous process, which requires ongoing support. It can take a long time to go from a first interaction with digital technology, to a position where someone has the confidence, basic digital skills and access – both in terms of a device and connectivity – to meaningfully engage digitally, independently daily.
Our work is reliant on partner organisations, across public, private and third sectors and committed individuals of all ages, who can provide the support needed for those new to, or still learning, to become digitally confident.
Through Digital Communities Wales: Digital Confidence, Health and Well-being (DCW), we are working with organisations from all sectors to help reach digitally excluded people. The programme is designed to provide training and support to front line staff, volunteers and organisations in order to engage with and develop the digital skills of citizens and enable them to engage with vital services.
Since the contract started in July 2019, DCW has supported an estimated 68,270 people with the basic digital skills needed to use the internet effectively.
The Welsh Government is an active member of the British Irish Council work sector on digital inclusion, which is led by the Isle of Man. During the pandemic, the significant role digital plays in society has been highlighted, whether engaging with health services or maintaining contact with friends and families during periods of lockdown. The work sector helps facilitate the routine sharing of best practice on how member administrations are tackling digital exclusion.