In April, LLA wrote to Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, to raise concerns about the number of MP’s offices without a publicly available telephone number (312 – equivalent to 48% of all MPs). We made the point that MPs’ reliance on emails effectively excludes the estimated 1.6 million people in the UK currently ‘living offline’ from contacting their representatives. In the letter, we also referred to the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee’s own Report into Digital Exclusion, which found that “Age remains one of the most significant predictors of digital exclusion with around 31% of people over 65 not using the internet at home”.
We urged the Speaker to investigate the issue and “rectify it at the earliest opportunity”. The Daily Express picked up on our campaign in an article on the 29th of April, quoting Eamonn Donaghy, CEO of the NFOP, as spokesperson for LLA who said, “It beggars belief that hundreds of MPs do not have a phone number which constituents can call to raise issues and get help. Many older people are more comfortable doing business on the phone than filling in online forms or writing emails, and frankly it’s often the best way to get things done”.
On the 26th of February the Government published a consultation paper on their ‘Digital Inclusion Action Plan: First Steps’. The plan identifies five groups to focus on, including older people who are less likely to have the necessary digital skills and more likely to struggle with accessibility. The plan notes that 11% of people generally tend to favour offline services, with 36% of claimants preferring to use offline routes to access Pension Credit, as an example.
The Government seems committed to a renewed focus on digital inclusion, which is helpful, but CSPA and LLA must continue to stress the importance of protecting offline access to services, as an estimated 1.6 million people in the UK live largely offline. LLA have responded to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s call for evidence in response to the paper, recommending, amongst other things, that the “Government could work with non-profit organisations, such as Later Life Ambitions, to leverage the experience of older people in co-designing inclusive solutions”. We await the consultation’s outcome.
