Digital inclusion is essential to a thriving economy
Why collaboration between Government and industry is critical in tackling this issue that if left unaddressed could have a detrimental impact on our economy and society
The technological and digital revolution has done much to enhance people’s lives. It has made it easier to keep in touch with friends and loved ones; manage finances at the click of the button; and establish connections with potential clients and customers anywhere in the world. But as technology evolves the digitally excluded are left further and further behind.
Recent research we conducted with the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) revealed that 11% of people in the UK are digitally excluded – far higher than Ofcom figures suggest, rising to 20% for those on the lowest incomes. This is felt most keenly in Scotland, Northern Ireland, North-East England and Yorkshire and the Humber, many areas where Virgin Money has a significant footprint.
In modern society, digital exclusion is having a significant impact on people’s finances. Without digital access people cannot shop around for the best deals, access online only offers, or access tools that can maximise their incomes. According to the CSJ, this is resulting in digitally excluded consumers paying on average 25% more for a raft of essential goods and services from train travel to mobile phone contracts to home insurance.
As well as limiting disposable income, digital exclusion is also having a negative impact on the productivity of our economy. Without digital access, people cannot easily apply for work, or develop the skills they need to thrive at work, creating an environment whereby people’s ability to contribute and participate in society is undermined.
For businesses this is contributing to a skills shortage and is also holding back some businesses, particularly SMEs, as their owners and their workforce can lack the confidence needed to access digital productivity tools that can tackle barriers to growth.
As an organisation with an ambition to become the UK’s best digital bank, Virgin Money believes that we have a responsibility to help those who want to engage digitally, to do so. That is why, in collaboration with leading digital inclusion charity, Good Things Foundation, we have turned all 91 of our stores into National Databank Hubs. Operating like a food bank, Databanks distribute free SIM cards with 25GB of data to anyone in data poverty.
In addition, through our collaboration with Good Things Foundation we are supporting the National Device Bank programme to provide free smart devices to people who are unable to afford them and Learn My Way, an online digital skills platform, to offer training to anyone looking for help improving their digital capability.
This activity complements a series of tools we have in place to help boost small business productivity, including M Track, an online tool which empowers business owners to manage their business data in one simple digital dashboard and Marketplace which offers handpicked digital solutions to support business growth.
While we believe that activity like this is essential for economic growth we are very aware that we sit on the periphery of a much larger problem. To tackle digital exclusion head on, greater collaboration between Government, business and the third sector is needed, delivered through a new digital strategy that places digital inclusion front and centre. Only then will more people be able to participate in the economy; only then will our workforce and the businesses that underpin UK GDP be truly fit for the future.