Housing Minister Grant Shapps has pledged to ‘end digital apartheid’ declaring that internet access should be a necessity, not a luxury.
Chairing the ‘Digital by Default’ summit with UK Digital Champion Martha Lane Fox, Shapps called on social housing providers to to get their tenants online:
“I’m calling on every social landlord to look long and hard at how they can help their tenants get online, from offering networks of public internet cafes to providing the technology to log on at home.”
“Internet connectivity is considered by many to be the fourth essential utility, and should be a necessity, not a luxury. Government is committed to helping demolish this unacceptable digital divide that is blocking social mobility for millions of council tenants.”
No details have been published about how social landlords are to fund this activity, but many staff at your landlords will know how or where you can access free training and support locally – ask – you will be amazed at the whole new world you are missing