Lindsay Boyle

Digital Exclusion in the East Midlands

Ofcom research in 2008 showed that the East Midlands is second only to Liverpool with the lowest take up of broadband connectivity anywhere in the UK. Across the country an average of 57% of UK households have internet connectivity, up from 45% a year earlier. Rural areas are better connected at 59%, versus 57% in cities. However the East Midlands average lags behind at only 51%. (As reported in the Guardian 22/5/08; www.guardian.co.uk)

What is DAIN?

Digital Activist Inclusion Network (DAIN) is a new project for the East Midlands, managed by the Workers' Education Association, NIACE and CEFET. DAIN will challenge digital exclusion and enabling everyone in society to benefit from the advantages of using technology as part of their daily lives.’

Implications for the sector?

Consideration from the sector will have to be given to those groups / individuals that may suffer from digital exclusion to ensure that they are fully engaged in the services that the voluntary and community sector provide. This may be specifically relevant to those groups that are outlined below.

There is also evidence that the third sector has a skills gap around ICT and digital media so the sector itself may need to ensure that it is fully engaged with digital developments. The East Midlands Regional ICT Project will look to ensure that the health of ICT in voluntary and community sector is assessed and support will be given. For more information on their work visit www.oneeastmidlands.org.uk.

The implications for specific user groups:

These specific impacts have been identified through the ESF framework. The European Social Fund (ESF) Framework is created in each of the English regions to identify priorities for funding through the European Social Fund. To see the East Midlands ESF Framework visit www.esf.gov.uk/.

Older People – Identified as a priority for the East Midlands in the ESF Regional Framework (p20), which states that the proportion of the economically active population aged between 50 and retirement age with no qualifications is almost double the average for all working age people in the East Midlands. According to the Office of National Statistics, only 35 per cent of over 55 year olds are using the internet. And as outlined below over one million economically inactive older people could be active and contributing £30bn to the economy.

Women – Identified as a particular priority for the East Midlands in the ESF Regional Framework (p20), which states that women’s median earnings are almost 46% lower than the median earnings for men, and that this earnings differential is higher in the East Midlands than in any other region. And that the economic activity rate for women is lower than for men (73.6% compared to 83.7%).

BME and New and Emerging communities – Identified as a priority in the ESF Regional Framework; The economic activity rate for ‘non-white’ people is lower than for white people (65.5% compared to 79.9%) (p20). The East Midlands also has the largest share of new National Insurance number registrations from workers from EU A10 Accession states – Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. (p21).

Young people NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) – There are a larger proportion of 16-19 year olds have no qualifications in the East Midlands than the UK average ESF Regional Framework (p20). 11% of 16 to 24 year olds are digitally excluded in UK or East Midlands (UK Online, Understanding Digital Inclusion, April 2007).

Thanks are given to the Digital Activist Inclusion Network (DAIN) who brought together this East Midlands focus on Digital Exclusion. DAIN is an Action Research project part funded by European Social Fund. They are in the process of holding local launch events in the year one project target areas of Nottingham, Leicester, Chesterfield and Lincoln. The project will recruit and train of at least 100 Digital Activists (volunteers) as experienced ICT learners and members of the target community to champion the benefits of engagement with digital technology who will engage with over 3000 digitally excluded individuals.

The Ageing Rural Population in the East Midlands

The East Midlands is, maybe surprisingly, the third most rural of the English regions. Widely recognised for its ‘three-city’ economic centre; comprising Nottingham, Leicester and Derby, it is counterbalanced by huge rural swathes across Lincolnshire, the Derbyshire Peak District and the Northern districts of Northamptonshire.

The proximity of the regions rural landscape to its business centres has created a commuter culture and concomitant competition for housing in the rural districts; especially those that fringe the urban centres. The effect has been compounded by a prolonged net flow of younger rural residents to the cities where both housing and high value employment are more plentiful.

Recent research by the National Housing Federation (Home Truths 2008) combined with population statistics clearly demonstrates the impact.

The result is an overall rural population which is ageing faster than its urban counterpart.

This demographic shift is and will continue to have profound impact on the rural community structure – including closure of local rural schools, loss of rural services, increased travel for existing residents and pressure on suburban service providers to meet the needs of the rural population.

The options in addressing these issues are wide ranging. Practical steps include:

• item expansion of the rural housing programme to encourage the development of more affordable rural housing

• maximisation of the skilled older population through voluntary activity and business development

• development of innovative and social business models of service delivery to ensure retention of local amenities.

Regional examples:

Practical regional examples include Elston Village shop, a volunteer run rural social enterprise in Nottinghamshire http://elstonvillageshop.co.uk/default.aspx

Use of existing community facilities for the co-location of secondary services such as convenience stores http://www.pubisthehub.org.uk/casestudies/showall