Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how she measures digital inclusion.

Digital inclusion is a cross-cutting issue that spans social engagement, education, employment, access to services and many more elements of everyday life. Responsibility for relevant policies and activities, including monitoring and evaluation, sit across government.

Government draws on evidence from a variety of sources including the Office for National Statistics, regulators, and trusted partners and stakeholders from across the sector. Importantly, we seek to use such data and evidence to better understand the impact on day to day lives.

DSIT will continue to work with Government colleagues and with key external stakeholders from across the sector to better understand the impacts of overcoming digital exclusion and ensure that policy interventions are evidence driven. DSIT has also committed to exploring options for funding research to improve the Government’s evidence base on digital exclusion.