Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2022

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Tuesday 18th October 2022 Grand Committee

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I came in just to listen to this important debate; it is a real privilege to follow the noble Lord as I had not intended to say anything. I should declare an interest: I currently co-chair the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Metaverse and Web 3.0. I am in an almost infantile state in terms of learning to understand the huge implications for ordinary lives of the new and emerging technology.

I want to make one point about inclusion and accessibility. We must remember that we spent a great deal of hours and months debating how much access all people have to technology. We assume that all this brilliant access is going to erupt from the beautiful, advanced phones that we either get from the House of Lords or can afford to buy, but that is not the case for millions of people in this country who have a huge amount of difficulty accessing information. More and more organisations—not just government organisations and local authorities, but mental health organisations and housing associations—are going digital; indeed, everyone is. There is not enough communication with the public. There is not enough communication with—or, frankly, respect for—the users.

I speak as someone whose son has learning disabilities and lives with autism. I can tell the Committee that he has mastered the iPad but there is no way for him to navigate. As yet, nothing has been made easier for him to ensure that he can access information more easily. We must not live in a panacea of our own with governing regulations, talking about legislation and implementing it as though everything is done once it leaves this building. I urge the Government and the Minister to consider the implications for those who have no access anywhere to the internet or smart technologies. What will happen to them? Are we going to ensure that people who do not have access to their information can have the privilege of understanding all the changes we are about to agree to?