Digital Technology: Older People
(asked on 10th July 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of digital exclusion among older people.
Answered by
Kanishka Narayan
Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Government’s ambition is simple: everyone, whatever their circumstances, should be able to get connected and get online, safely and with confidence
In 2025, 20% of those aged 75+ do not have home internet access compared to 5% across all age groups. Those aged 75+ are also less likely to have the foundational level of digital skills (54%) compared to the general population (85%). This has however improved by 23 percentage points since 2022, when only 31% of those aged 75+ had foundational level digital skills.
In the year since the Digital Inclusion Action Plan was published in 2025, over a million people have been connected or supported to get online, more than 22,000 people have received a free device, and communities across the UK have benefited from the £11.9 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund. This includes Age UK’s Digital Champion Programme providing digital skills and devices across England.