Bridging the Digital Divide: Local Solutions for Skills and Employment

In today’s digital economy, access to technology and digital proficiency are fundamental to economic participation. Yet, millions across the UK remain excluded due to digital poverty, limiting their access to education, employment, and essential services. Local authorities are uniquely positioned to address these challenges by driving digital skills initiatives and tackling barriers to inclusion. With the right funding, national support, and strategic partnerships, they can reduce economic inactivity, close the skills gap, and create pathways into employment.

Digital Exclusion: A Barrier to Opportunity

Despite being a global leader in digital innovation, the UK faces significant digital inequalities. Recent research highlights that 7.5 million adults – 18% of the UK’s population – lack essential digital skills for the workplace. The cost-of-living crisis has further exacerbated this issue, with more than five million households struggling to afford communication services. These statistics reflect lost opportunities, particularly for marginalised communities, deepening economic disparities.

Young people are among those most affected. Approximately, one million 16–24-year-olds are currently not in education, employment, or training (NEET). Without access to devices, connectivity, or digital skills, their prospects for meaningful employment are severely constrained. This reality widens the economic divide and perpetuates cycles of deprivation.

Local Authorities: Driving Digital Inclusion

Local authorities play a crucial role in expanding digital access and skills training. Their understanding of local needs allows them to implement targeted interventions, ensuring that digital inclusion becomes a key pillar of economic and social development. Some councils are already leading the way with innovative digital inclusion strategies, while others require additional resources to integrate these efforts into their broader economic plans.

Collaboration between local authorities, community organisations, and industry partners has proven effective in scaling digital inclusion efforts. Networks that facilitate the sharing of best practices and resources can strengthen digital skills programmes, making them more sustainable and impactful. However, ambition alone is not enough. The Local Government Association (LGA) warns that councils in England face a funding gap of £1.9 billion in 2025/26, rising to £8.4 billion by 2028/29, restricting their ability to implement essential, targeted initiatives.  Without sustained investment, digital exclusion will continue to limit economic mobility and opportunity.

National Support and Sustainable Funding: The Missing Link

Local initiatives alone cannot bridge the digital divide. A clear national strategy with dedicated funding is essential to ensuring universal access to digital devices, connectivity, and skills training.

The UK government’s launch of the Digital Inclusion Action Plan in February 2025 is a significant and welcome step in addressing digital exclusion. Recognising the critical need for action, the plan introduces a series of targeted measures aimed at expanding digital access and opportunity. This includes the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, designed to support community-driven projects that help people get online. Strengthened frameworks for digital skills will equip individuals and businesses with the confidence and knowledge to navigate the digital world safely. In partnership with the Digital Poverty Alliance, a pilot scheme will see surplus government laptops refurbished and redistributed to those who need them most. A renewed focus on improving the accessibility of digital government services, including the expansion of GOV.UK One Login, aims to ensure that essential online services are easier to use. To drive long-term progress, the plan also commits to enhancing research on digital inclusion, identifying priority areas, and evaluating the broader economic and social impact of upskilling adults.

This action plan signals a growing national commitment to closing the digital divide. However, meaningful and lasting progress will depend on sustained investment and a long-term funding strategy. Without it, digital exclusion will remain a persistent barrier, limiting opportunities for those already at the margins of society.

Collaboration for Lasting Impact

No single organisation can solve digital exclusion alone. Stronger collaboration between local authorities, industry partners, and community organisations is crucial to scaling impact. Successful initiatives demonstrate the effectiveness of cross-sector cooperation in driving practical solutions. Expanding these partnerships will ensure that digital skills training reaches those most in need, linking digital inclusion to employability and economic mobility.

Employers also have a significant role to play. The UK’s digital skills shortage is estimated to cost the economy £63 billion annually. By working alongside local authorities to develop industry-aligned digital training programmes, businesses can support the creation of a future-ready workforce while addressing their own hiring challenges.

Tackling Digital Poverty

Digital exclusion is not a secondary issue – it is central to economic and social mobility. Without intervention, the divide will continue to grow, limiting opportunities for millions and hindering the UK’s 

economic growth. Local authorities have the expertise and reach to drive real change, but they cannot act alone. National investment, sustainable funding, and strategic collaboration must underpin the UK’s digital inclusion strategy.

Addressing digital poverty is more than a policy priority – it is an investment in a stronger, more resilient economy. The question is not whether we can afford to support digital inclusion, but whether we can afford not to.

By Elizabeth Anderson, CEO, Digital Poverty Alliance