What we’ve seen working with the digitally excluded and why it should worry you
April 16, 2025Posted by:
Digital poverty isn’t theoretical. It’s a daily punch in the gut.
Millions of people in the UK are cut off from the basics: jobs, school, healthcare, benefits, because they don’t have what most of us take for granted: stable internet, a working device, and the skills to use them.
We’ve worked with them. This isn’t abstract.
It’s brutal. And getting worse.
The numbers are worse than you think
13 million adults are digitally excluded. 3.3 million have never touched the internet.
That’s not just the older generation. It’s children. It’s 20 year olds. It’s single parents who had to pick between heating and broadband.
Let this sink in:
- 44% of people earning under £10K don’t have online access
- Nearly half of UK families with kids fail to meet the minimum digital standard
- 42% of 18 – 24-year olds are excluded, not by choice, by cost
This isn’t a slow leak. It’s a full-on rupture.
No access = no options
Have you tried job hunting without internet. Or homeschooling. Or booking a GP?
Offline means locked out and that comes with a price. A poverty premium, paid in missed deals, missed deadlines, missed chances.
You don’t just miss out. You fall behind. Fast.
- No broadband = no job boards
- No device = no school access
- No data = no benefits
People aren’t “behind.” They’re blocked. On purpose? No. But the outcome’s the same.
COVID. The crunch.
Lockdown turned the internet into a survival tool.
And just when the world went digital, millions got shut out. Remote work, online learning, digital healthcare, gone.
Now, the cost of living pressure is forcing people to cancel Wi-Fi just to pay rent.
That’s not a gap. That’s collapse.
Councils are doing the work. But they’re being set up to fail.
Many local authorities get it. But they’re restricted.
They’re building device banks. Setting up Wi-Fi hotspots. Running training pop-ups.
But a £1.9B hole in council budgets by 2026? Scaling up in near impossible.
They understand the issue better than anyone. But they need more than applause.
This isn’t charity. It’s survival.
Digital exclusion costs the UK £63 billion a year.
And the real price isn’t even in the economy. It’s in opportunity, confidence, identity.
If you can’t get online, you can’t participate in modern life.
Not fully. Not equally.
This isn’t about being tech-savvy. It’s about being seen.
PeoplePlus and LearningPlus are helping turn the tide.
We’re setting up our own Digital Poverty Programme, built from our own budget, powered by our partnerships, and focused on delivering access to those who need it most. This isn’t just an initiative. It’s a commitment. We believe in removing the barriers, not waiting for others to do it.
And we’ll keep bringing this issue to the forefront, we want people to understand why we do what we do: Because digital exclusion holds people back. And inclusion moves everyone forward.
Your turn. We’ve said a lot. But what do you think?
- Where do you see digital poverty in your world, and how are people responding?
- What role should businesses, councils, and individuals play in fixing it?
- And what’s one thing we could do differently, or better together?
Challenge us. Share what’s working. Or tell us what’s not.
When the right people speak up, real change starts to happen.
April 16, 2025Posted by:
