Darren Jones MP: The first meeting of the Data Poverty APPG
The ability to get online has become a requirement for education, healthcare, careers and our social lives. Yet, data poverty forces people to choose between getting online and other necessary household expenses. Data isn’t a luxury: it’s a fundamental tool for succeeding in an increasingly digital-first country. The lockdown showed how far we have to go to guarantee internet access for kids learning at school, adults getting a job and families staying in touch. Many great things are happening to eradicate data poverty, and it’s time for Parliament to work cross-party with the third sector, technology companies and academic institutions on this issue.
That’s why I’m honoured to chair the APPG on Data Poverty’s first event – a roundtable discussion between the groups with the power to raise awareness of data poverty issues and put us on the pathway to eliminating data poverty in the UK. Fittingly this first event will be virtual, and we seek to build on of our campaign for a Social Tariff on Broadband. Such a tariff would require all internet service providers to offer low-cost tariffs to anyone receiving Universal Credit.
Our APPG’s Officers include Carol Monaghan MP, Julie Elliott MP, Siobhain McDonagh MP and Karen Bradley MP. Lord Clement Jones is the group’s Treasurer. Our event will form part of the broader Digital Inequalities Summit organised by several other APPGs, and which is supported by the Digital Poverty Alliance. Initial contributions are to be made by a number of stakeholders including: BT, Nominet, Jisc, Glide and the Good Things Foundation, and then we will open the discussion for contributions from wider attendees from across Parliament, third sector and industry.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the UK’s transition to an online society with education, healthcare provision, access to information and advice, personal interconnectivity and other vital services all migrating further towards the digital sphere. However, we risk leaving behind those unable to access the skills, devices or connectivity required in an online society: such as the estimated nine million Britons whom the Good Things Foundation say struggle to get online independently.
Data poverty is a complex issue. It encompasses key policy areas such as infrastructure, the digital skills divide, socio-economic status, age, and regional disparities. Our APPG will work with a broad array of stakeholders to better understand how to address these policy challenges and what action may be required by the Government or industry.
We have a long way to go to make data poverty a thing of the past. Yet, I’m excited about the innovative solutions that are out there. Creating a truly inclusive digital Britain will create new opportunities for children and adults of all ages throughout our country. The pandemic has illuminated the issue of data poverty, and our APPG is determined to use this momentum to turn awareness into action.
Speaking on the topic of data poverty, and the APPG’s role in tackling it, Helen Milner, CEO of The Good Things Foundation, has said:
“Can you imagine spending the last 18 months without the internet? Can you imagine not being able to apply for jobs, to work from home, to support your children's education? Can you imagine being cut off from your loved ones? No one should have to experience this. It is unacceptable that two million UK households struggle to afford their internet bills, while 1.5m households have no internet at all. The pandemic exposed and exacerbated these deep inequalities of data poverty. The Data Poverty APPG will work with Parliamentarians, businesses, and charities such as ours to tackle the root causes of data poverty, and to develop and implement robust solutions. The Good Things Foundation is delighted to be a founding partner and to be working with the APPG to end data poverty.”
Chris Ashworth, Head of Social Impact at Nominet, said:
“Despite our collective understanding of digital inequality maturing over the last decade, it has been the COVID-19 pandemic which has truly illuminated the fault lines of living on the wrong side of the digital divide. Binary issues are not always addressed by simple solutions and data poverty is perhaps the most complex of all in this field. Data poverty – the lack of ability to connect to essential online services others take for granted – can affect an individual in different spaces and places, at different times of the week. It is driven by circumstances and context. It holds people back from education and from opportunity. It is inextricably linked to poverty, social immobility and precarious employment. The Data Poverty APPG is coming at a crucial time to explore and embrace a collective will to address data poverty and make the online world work for everyone in society.”
Helen Burrows, Content and Services Policy Director at BT, said:
“The pandemic has thrown a spotlight on those who are not online, or not able to consistently afford to be online. BT’s priority has remained to keep customers connected, for example through offering unlimited data for NHS staff and customers who identified themselves as vulnerable. Realising the risk of leaving families and communities behind, we helped schoolchildren maintain consistent access to learning facilities and education: our Lockdown Learning programme supported tens of thousands of families with free data, free access to wifi and free use of BBC Bitesize and Oak Academy for home learning.
“No single company can fix the digital divide that has emerged over the course of decades. But we believe corporations as well as civil society and Government all have a role to play in developing the solution. Our Skills for Tomorrow programme has already equipped 10 million people with the technology skills they need to flourish in the digital economy. This year we launched Home Essentials, a new “social tariff” providing affordable access to fibre broadband and calls. We particularly hope low income households that only use mobile data to access the internet and online services will consider it, as pound for gigabit of data, fixed connectivity is much more affordable and enables a household to get all their data needs at a low monthly spend.
“BT is pleased to support the Data Poverty APPG, as it seeks to bring stakeholders together to find sustainable solutions for those in data poverty.”
Heidi Fraser-Krauss, CEO of Jisc, said:
“As the UK’s digital body for tertiary education and research sectors, Jisc has spent the last 18 months campaigning to raise awareness of the impact of data poverty. We have led collaborative efforts across our sectors and with Government partners to find solutions. When universities and colleges had to close their sites during the coronavirus lockdowns, many students couldn’t access reliable connectivity at home, and so couldn’t access education. Learners struggled to cover the costs of the mobile phone data they needed to complete their coursework remotely, faced unreliable Wi-Fi, or had to compromise over bandwidth with family members or housemates. Jisc is delighted to be a founding member of the Data Poverty APPG, and we look forward to working with all involved to collectively tackle the critical issue of data poverty affecting students, teachers, and society at large.”
Meri Braziel, CEO of Glide, said:
“The past 18 months has shown that if a household cannot afford adequate access to data then they are increasingly excluded from opportunities. They are excluded from job hunting, working effectively online, or even accessing vital public services and support. For younger generations, who have become highly reliant on technology to aid their studies, data poverty gives them a significant and unfair disadvantage. We at Glide want to ensure that all higher education students have access to a minimum standard of technology and bandwidth so that they can take full advantage of their studies.”