UK National Delivery Plan 2023
Messages, Principles and Mission
Three key messages and six missions
The National Delivery Plan represents the culmination of the work of the Digital Poverty Alliance (hereafter referred to as the DPA) to date. We have engaged extensively with stakeholders across public, private and third sectors to produce this plan. This has resulted in the development of six missions to end digital poverty by 2030. The chances of successfully delivering the actions have been evaluated based on our awareness of existing work and our assessment of how straightforward the implementation process will likely be.
Key Messages
End digital poverty together. We need a UK-wide digital inclusion strategy and an integrated programme to provide sustainable and affordable access to all.
Evidence Review Recommendation
- Support for the whole journey.
- Affordable and sustainable inclusion.
Mission
1. Increase awareness across society about the need for sustainable and strategic action to end digital poverty.
2. Ensure affordable connectivity and guarantee full digital access for those in need.
Chances of action success for 2023/24
1. The chances of achieving the 2023/24 actions are high as we can leverage a broad coalition of supporters committed to increasing awareness about ending digital poverty.
2. The chances of achieving the actions for 2023/24 are moderate. Signposting and awareness will improve, but commitments to increase data and device donations are uncertain.
Key Messages
Digital access is a basic right. We need cross sector collaboration to ensure that everyone has the support, capability, and confidence to navigate the internet, both now and in the future.
Evidence Review Recommendation
- Inclusive and accessible design.
- Skills to engage and empower
Mission
3. Improve standards of accessibility, safety, and inclusiveness across all digital products and services.
4. By 2030, significantly reduce the proportion of individuals without essential digital skills and ensure the sustainability, and expansion, of these skills in response to changing technologies and needs.
Chances of action success for 2023/24
3. The chances of achieving the actions for 23/24 are moderate. Actions build upon existing work to improve media literacy and ensure accessibility across digital public sector services.
4. The chances of achieving the actions for 2023/24 are moderate. While raising awareness about the significance of digital skills is feasible, other actions require external commitments that need further consultation and engagement.
Key Messages
Empower people and communities. We need to expand our knowledge of what works and empower local communities to develop, coordinate and scale support to end digital poverty.
Evidence Review Recommendation
- Building the evidence base.
- People-centred and community-embedded interventions.
Mission
5. Enhance knowledge and understanding of digital poverty among all stakeholders, including citizens, governments, and the public and private sectors, through the development and utilisation of research.
6. Increase local capacity to provide joined-up digital inclusion support to individuals and communities.
Chances of action success for 2023/24
5. The chances of achieving the actions for 2023/24 are high. They build on existing work, including the MDLS project, proof-of-concept projects, and work to improve the signposting to research.
6. The chances of achieving the actions for 2023/24 are high. The focus for 2023/24 will be to understand how digital inclusion interventions, delivered locally, can be supported and scaled.
| Key Messages | Evidence review recommendation | Mission | Chances of action success for 2023/24 | Â |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End digital poverty together. We need a UK-wide digital inclusion strategy and an integrated programme to provide sustainable and affordable access to all. | Support for the whole journey | Increase awareness across society about the need for sustainable and strategic action to end digital poverty. | The chances of achieving the 2023/24 actions are high as we can leverage a broad coalition of supporters committed to increasing awareness about ending digital poverty. | |
| Affordable and sustainable inclusion | Ensure affordable connectivity and guarantee full digital access for those in need. | The chances of achieving the actions for 2023/24 are moderate. Signposting and awareness will improve, but commitments to increase data and device donations are uncertain. | ||
| Digital access is a basic right. We need cross sector collaboration to ensure that everyone has the support, capability, and confidence to navigate the internet, both now and in the future. | Inclusive and accessible design | Improve standards of accessibility, safety, and inclusiveness across all digital products and services. | The chances of achieving the actions for 23/24 are moderate. Actions build upon existing work to improve media literacy and ensure accessibility across digital public sector services. | |
| Skills to engage and empower | By 2030, significantly reduce the proportion of individuals without essential digital skills and ensure the sustainability, and expansion, of these skills in response to changing technologies and needs. | The chances of achieving the actions for 2023/24 are moderate. While raising awareness about the significance of digital skills is feasible, other actions require external commitments that need further consultation and engagement. | ||
| Empower people and communities. We need to expand our knowledge of what works and empower local communities to develop, coordinate and scale support to end digital poverty. | Building the evidence base | Enhance knowledge and understanding of digital poverty among all stakeholders, including citizens, governments, and the public and private sectors, through the development and utilisation of research. | The chances of achieving the actions for 2023/24 are high. They build on existing work, including the MDLS project, proof-of-concept projects, and work to improve the signposting to research. | |
| People-centred and community-embedded interventions | Increase local capacity to provide joined-up digital inclusion support to individuals and communities. | The chances of achieving the actions for 2023/24 are high. The focus for 2023/24 will be to understand how digital inclusion interventions, delivered locally, can be supported and scaled. |
Introduction
The UK is at a unique moment in time as all aspects of life, including how we learn, how we participate, and how we transact are being shaped by digital technology. At this critical juncture we could advance as a truly 21st century digital nation where everyone is enabled and engaged, or leave large proportions of our society ever further behind, with all the negative consequences for them, the economy and society as a whole. We firmly believe that future generations will view how we address what we have termed ‘digital poverty’ as one of the defining features of the next few years.
The scale and pace of change inevitably means that addressing this challenge goes beyond what individual organisations, companies or government departments can achieve working in isolation. An interconnected digital world requires an interconnected strategy. There is much that we can build on:
- There have been tremendous and generous responses from communities, organisations and from individuals and whilst this has always been well-meaning, it has often lacked the support and access to information and resources needed to effect real, lasting and positive change for people.
- The relatively low costs of devices and connectivity especially when compared to the financial, social and other benefits that can accrue to individuals and families.
- The network of individual digital champions and local organisations already exists in substantial form across the country with thousands more who are ready and willing to help through volunteering and await guidance on the best way to approach this.
- Leadership can be found across the UK from major metropolitan mayors such as those in Greater Manchester and Leeds, and from local authorities and neighbourhood volunteers. What is lacking is leadership on this matter at national government level. Leadership and national strategies are already in place in Scotland and Wales and the same is now needed in England and in Northern Ireland.
The Digital Poverty Alliance aims to maximise the impact of these endeavours, sharing what works, and, most importantly keeping a laser-like focus on what works for hard pressed individuals and families, so our collective actions are coherent and we simplify rather than confuse. That is the fundamental rationale behind our National Delivery Plan. The plan endeavours to set out in some detail the required response and identifies needs and possible responsibilities. Of all of these we would like to highlight two:
- The urgent requirement for a new UK-wide Digital Inclusion strategy to update and replace the 2014 version.
- A call to develop an integrated programme shared by all sectors of society to ensure that national investment in all areas from healthcare to education and employment to travel is fully realisable through ensuring everyone can benefit and engage.
We are living through a period of tremendous transition. Inevitably our plan will need to adapt to changing political, economic, social and technological circumstances. We will need to be flexible and not overcommit on the basis of a hazy understanding of what the future might bring. The plan sets the direction of travel, we hope you continue to work with us on the next steps of the journey.
Paul Finnis
CEO at the Learning Foundation and Digital Poverty Alliance
Niel McLean
Chair of Trustees at the Learning Foundation
Why we need a National Delivery Plan
Closing the digital divide is essential to create a fairer society, and it has enormous implications for healthcare, the economy, social inclusion and the well-being of individuals and communities. There are few more meaningful and practicable measures than providing equitable, empowering, and supportive digital access to release the entrepreneurial, creative, and productive energies of people across the UK.
In this vein, we have produced our National Delivery Plan, which sets out a roadmap for ending digital poverty by 2030. Fortunately, the UK already has a robust digital inclusion ecosystem that spans public, private, and third sectors. Yet, to create a truly inclusive digital society, we need greater levels of political and business leadership to drive this agenda forward. This needs to be backed up by a long-term funding settlement to ensure that local and community-based solutions to tackling the digital divide are developed and scaled.
To tackle digital poverty, we need to support activity that extends beyond technical solutions and towards action that addresses poverty’s economic and social causes. There are deep structural issues related to low-paid and insecure work, the insufficiency of welfare benefits, and the rising cost of living1 that impact financial poverty. This is why, as part of efforts to tackle digital poverty, we must also be committed to support and work with individuals and organisations that are tackling the root causes of poverty. Access to the internet is essential to participate in modern society. People should not have to decide whether digital access is more important than putting food on the table or heating their homes.
Additionally, we anticipate that several key drivers will increase the demand for digital inclusion support over the next decade. They include economic insecurity, the transition of television from broadcast to online, increased use of digital in healthcare, the PSTN phone network switch-off, services transitioning from offline to online, and technological advances, including the development of the metaverse and machine learning.
Digital poverty is a complex policy issue, and it will take concerted efforts to address it by 2030. Action must be taken to ensure that support is available to people on a sustainable basis. This plan attempts to create a comprehensive list of areas where action is needed. On a short-term basis, we have set out a range of actions for the Digital Poverty Alliance, our members, and stakeholders to focus towards over the next two years. Beyond this, we have identified actions that need to take place between now and 2030, but without specific timescales for their completion. For these long-term actions, it will be a matter for further discussion and debate about how they can be achieved. It is important to emphasise that the National Delivery Plan is not set in stone between now and 2030. It will be a living document that we will update on an ongoing basis as circumstances and technology change.
We have also considered the balance in this plan between having a broad focus on several priorities or a narrow focus on a few priorities. We have decided to focus on six core areas based on the six NDP missions. We have done so for several reasons. Firstly, we wanted to ensure continuity between the process of developing this plan and the recommendations from the UK Digital Poverty Evidence Review. The Evidence Review highlighted the complex and multifaceted nature of digital poverty, and it was necessary to present a version of this plan which encapsulated a comprehensive range of areas where action is needed. It is also important to note that while the DPA has produced this plan, it is not for us to deliver alone; instead, it identifies a range of areas where urgent action is needed from the community of DPA members, industry, and the wider charitable sector. It is especially important that strong leadership is provided by the UK Government to end digital poverty once and for all.
Pledge Action Today
Take the next step – find out how you and your organisation can use the National Delivery Plan’s six missions to address digital poverty in the UK.
Read the overview
We have condensed the following National Delivery Plan 2023 into a 10 page PDF. This provides an overview of our approach, the six missions and their suggested actions.