Broadband News

Council residents in ‘digital apartheid’

Wednesday 7 December, 2011

By Helen Thomas

Government pledge to help social housing tenants get online.

Housing minister Grant Shapps has pledged to bring an end to the “digital apartheid” that means many social tenants in England are unable to get broadband access.

Chairing the “Digital by Default” summit, attended by social landlords and housing groups, and the government’s “digital champion” Martha Lane Fox, Shapps called on social landlords to improve infrastructure for broadband access.

It is estimated that almost half of social housing tenants in England – over eight million people - including many of the country’s most vulnerable families and individuals, do not have access to the internet or have never gone online.

Shapps said: “Internet connectivity should be a necessity, not a luxury, and government is committed to helping demolish this unacceptable digital divide that is blocking social mobility for millions of council tenants.

“I’m calling on every social landlord to look long and hard at how they can help their tenants get online, from offering networks of public internet cafes to providing the technology to log on at home.”

Those online can make savings of hundreds of pounds a year through online shopping, are an estimated 25% more likely to get a job, and children from homes with an internet connection are, on average, two grades ahead of those who do not.

And the benefits of getting residents online aren’t just for the tenants. Households that are connected can save councils and landlords up to £340million in communication costs alone, as undertaking transactions online, such as rent payment or reporting repairs, costs less than face-to-face contact.

Photo by J@ck!