A million people have cut back or cancelled internet subscriptions in the cost-of-living crisis, peers warned today.
Rising “digital exclusion” risks undermining Rishi Sunak’s plan to make the UK a “technology superpower”, according to the Lords Communications and Digital Committee.
The Prime Minister wants Britain to become the home of a watchdog for Artificial Intelligence.
But peers believe he should address the gap in families unable to connect to the internet.
Committee chairwoman Baroness Tina Stowell, a former Conservative leader in the Lords, said: “The cost-of-living crisis has made access to the internet unaffordable for many.
“We need urgent action to ensure people aren’t priced offline.
“This should include scrapping VAT on social tariffs and more efforts to promote their availability.
“The Government should also work with the private sector to expand internet voucher schemes and set an example by making more public sector bodies donate old IT equipment to digital inclusion projects.”
The last plan to address those shut out of web access was produced nine years ago.
The committee’s report, published today, says that “by failing to take decisive action to tackle digital exclusion the Government is allowing millions of citizens to fall behind - with multi-billion-pound impacts on economic growth, public health and levelling-up.”
It says a shortage of digital skills costs the economy up to £63billion a year.
In a 72-page report, it says that while “the Government aspires to global digital leadership…it does not have a credible strategy to tackle digital exclusion”.
The study warns: “This matters. Everything from housing and healthcare resources to banking and benefit systems is shifting online at an unprecedented rate.
“By failing to take decisive action the Government is allowing millions of citizens to fall behind.
“The figures are concerning. Fully 1.7 million households have no mobile or broadband internet at home.
“Up to a million people have cut back or cancelled internet packages in the past year as cost of living challenges bite.
“Around 2.4 million people are unable to complete a single basic task to get online, such as opening an internet browser.
“Over five million employed adults cannot complete essential digital work tasks.”
Peers warn that “basic digital skills” are set to become the country’s biggest skills gap by 2030. “This all has profound consequences for individual wellbeing and multi-billion pound implications for UK productivity, economic growth, public health, levelling-up, education and net-zero objectives,” they add.
Baroness Stowell added: “We have found a distinct lack of leadership in Government to tackle this issue.
“It is shocking that a digital inclusion strategy has not been produced since 2014 and the Government sees no need for a new one.
“It is vital we get a grip of this now.”
A Government spokesman said: "We are committed to ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age.
"Steps we are taking include putting essential digital skills on an equal footing in the adult education system alongside English and maths.
“To boost access, we have worked closely with Ofcom and the industry to bring a range of social broadband and mobile tariffs, available across 99% of the UK and starting from as low as £10 per month, and our £5billion Project Gigabit has already resulted in 76% of the UK being covered by gigabit broadband, up from just 6% at the start of 2019.”
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