TARA is aking BANES what their plans are to address digital exclusion.

More organisations including BANES and the NHS are now planning to build on the systems they developed during the crisis.

https://tarabath.blogspot.com/2020/07/digital-exclusion.html

Residents have become more comfortable with online service delivery which will, in turn, reduce the demand for traditional face-to-face services and make them less economically viable.

This will or should put the issue of digital exclusion front and centre for policymakers.

Many of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in our community cannot afford to access IT and/or lack the ability to use it. This effect has been exacerbated by the closure and underfunding of libraries.

Libraries have traditionally been where the digitally excluded could access both computers and help and training in using them.

These services have been further impacted by vocal campaigns to privilege book-based services in the allocation of funding.