Digital Exclusion

I strongly agree with concerns about the growing impact of the digital age, particularly the barriers faced by those who are either not digitally enabled or reasonably choose not to rely on smartphone, apps and internet-based systems in everyday life.  

The rapid shift to digital-first services – without equal access to non-digital alternatives – not only risks leaving many behind but also risks catastrophic failure when systems are hacked or otherwise disabled.  

The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee’s report on Digital Exclusion (June 2023) confirmed what many of us have long warned: successive Governments lack a credible strategy to address digital exclusion.  The scale of the problem is significant—1.7 million households have no internet at home, and around 2.4 million people cannot complete even a basic digital task such as opening a browser. Over 5 million working adults are unable to carry out essential digital tasks required in many jobs. The Committee rightly concluded that basic digital skills are on track to become the UK’s largest skills gap by 2030. 

This is not an issue confined to one generation or background.  Speaking in the House of Lords in February 2024, Lord Foster said: Digital exclusion increases social isolation, hindering community participation and civic engagement. As technology permeates every aspect of our lives, the inability to access and use digital resources creates a significant divide in our society. It exacerbates existing inequalities, disproportionately affecting older adults, people with disabilities and those on low incomes but it is not just an old-people problem. It affects people from all walks of life and of all ages. 

There’s also a growing culture of less accessible and dehumanised service delivery associated with the growing dependence on this technology.  Services seem to increasingly hide behind electronic facades and systems which may make sense to the service designer but which are too often designed for the convenience of the provider rather than the customer and fail to recognise the ambiguity of the options and offer FAQs which are irrelevant to need and lead to extreme frustration.  

My Liberal Democrat Parliamentary colleagues and I continue to call on the Government to implement the Committee’s recommendations: to invest in digital skills training, support community-based inclusion hubs, and ensure public services remain accessible by other means. We must also tackle cost-of-living pressures, so people aren’t forced to choose between internet access and basic needs. 

In relation to my own services, I do try to go the extra mile to make sure that I am accessible beyond the digital shield that other services have created.  I continue to provide non-digital/off-line communication systems including: 

• My weekly column in the Cornishman and the Truro Voice newspaper. 

• Articles in the St Ives Times and Echo and Fishing News publications. 

• Radio interviews on Radio Cornwall & Radio Scilly. 

• BBC Spotlight interviews. 

• Leaflets & pamphlets 

• Pop-up surgeries 

• Individual surgery appointments 

• Public meetings 

• Facilitating visits and meeting with constituents in London 

• Accepting letters from my constituents and sending postal replies 

• Open-line for phone communication 

Digital progress should not mean digital compulsion. Choice, fairness and accessibility should be the guiding principles. I appreciate your highlighting of your experiences, and I will continue to press for a more inclusive and balanced approach to public and private service design.