Digital Technology: Dumfries

(asked on 26th February 2015) - View Source

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the conclusions in the publication Digital Participation in Dumfries and Kirkcaldy published in February 2015.


Answered by
Lord Vaizey of Didcot Portrait
Lord Vaizey of Didcot
This question was answered on 4th March 2015

Along with the rest of Government, this Department will continue to work with the Government Digital Service (GDS) to reduce digital exclusion by considering how digital inclusion can be embedded into policy areas and ensuring that online services are designed with digitally excluded users in mind.

The Digital Inclusion team at GDS has now built partnerships with more than 70 public, private and third sector organisations. This includes the Carnegie Trust itself, who published the report that the Hon. Member refers to in his question. The Trust is also undertaking research that will provide a better understanding of who is digitally excluded, and what interventions stand the best chance of making a real difference. This will help target investment and energies where they are most needed.

The Government is also committed to achieving superfast broadband coverage of 95% of UK premises by 2017. It is also looking at how to extend coverage to the final 5% in the hardest to reach areas beyond the current programme through an investment of £10m in pilots to test a range of coverage solutions.

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