Our CEO, Emma Weston has been through the recent announcements to work out what it means for all of us who work in digital inclusion.
Lots of projects we work with are struggling to find funding and we've all pinned hope on the Government's recent public commitment to digital inclusion. Is that turning into practical action? And did the Spending Review come up with solid solutions and funding we can work with?
The super short conclusion:
There has been mention of £6m for digital inclusion, but not a lot of detail as yet. In the words of a thousand teachers, “a promising start and with great potential; needs to stay focussed with the end goal always in sight”.
The more detailed version:
📢 The clear positives:
· There was a strong commitment to digital transformation and technological advancement throughout the Spending Review and specific mention of £6million funding for ‘local digital inclusion’
· Looking at the Spending Review as a whole, it is striking that digital inclusion also appears interwoven, sometimes implicitly, within broader strategic investments.
😐 The hmmms:
· With big funding commitments for things like 'Transformation' in a £3.25 billion Fund for digital transformation, prevention, and productivity …
· And £10 billion to "bring the NHS into the digital age" …
· £6m for local digital inclusion funding seems disproportionate?
🔎 The lens of hopefulness:
· We don’t know anything of the detail about the £6m local digital inclusion funding; it could be a ‘starter’ or a primer, a bridge to something bigger and long lasting.
· There are opportunities through a number of other commitments in the Spending Review to prioritise digital inclusion: because if digital transformation is going to be driving the UK then we better get a wriggle on making sure everyone can be part of that.
· The Secretary of State is saying things like: "Leaving people behind [in digital transformation process] could threaten our mission to maximise technology for economic growth and better public services, which is central to our Plan for Change.”
ALL full details: Emma's written more about this on LinkedIn, and outlined the various pots where she thinks the money might come from. You can read the full post and article here.
We will keep monitoring the situation and as we find out more, we'll let you know.