Offline older people miss out on services access
The Government expects that the ‘digital by default’ agenda will save £1.7 billion to £1.8 billion a year by 2016
Universal Credit, which is just starting its slow path to replacing our old benefits system, will require claimants to apply for and manage their benefits online and the Government aims to get another 600 transactions totally online soon
To get an idea of what we’re talking about here, check out this Government website, which tracks 25 key services as they go online
The projects range from property registers to patent renewals and from driving records to applications for carer’s allowance
In many instances, it’s sort of shocking that these things aren’t available online already and putting them online certainly seems like a positive move towards inclusion in general, including helping people claim support to which they otherwise wouldn’t have realised they were entitled
As many have pointed out, however, making services online only risks excluding exactly the people the Government should be supporting the most
75% of people aged over 75 and 30% of people with disabilities are still not online, for example
Disadvantaged groups, including older people, are disproportionally represented in the 19% of households that use the internet less than once a week and are far less likely to have online skills adequate for using online services
And the gap is growing. Between 2000 and 2008, the number of home broadband connections in the UK grew by 40% among most users. But among older households usage increased by just 26%
An example: Universal Credit
Let’s pause here to look at a real world example of how the digital by default agenda is likely to affect users
Universal Credit is the Government’s flagship reform of the benefits system. Anyone that accesses a key benefit will be moved to Universal Credit by 2017
The service will be primarily online: applications will be online and so will the means of managing benefits for as long as claimants are receiving them
Alternative access to the service will be provided in the form of phone lines and face to face support, those types of support don’t just disappear as a result of this new agenda
But those alternative types of support will be fairly limited and some may just assist with access to the digital service, rather than circumventing altogether
To ensure that there are as few practical constraints as possible to using online services, the online service is expected to make use of accessible technologies that may particularly benefit older people
For example, simple magnification on the page and a Text to Speech service, which converts text on a computer to spoken word, could help those with poor eyesight
Choosing exclusion
There are many barriers to older people getting online: financial disincentives, lack of skills and lack of peer support and encouragement to name just three
Other barriers are more straightforward: many older people say they just don’t need the internet, so they don’t use it.
A 2010 study of digital exclusion found that 39% of older people not online said they didn’t need a connection and another 20% said they didn’t want one
In a similar 2009 study 62% of digitally excluded participants cited lack of interest as the reason they’d never got online and another 12% agreed that the internet was ‘not for them’
All of which is fair enough, except that, because of the changes in policy outlined above, choosing digital exclusion might soon mean choosing to lose full access to vital services
We already know that being able to access online information leads to big savings for households but, as never before, that will extend even to services that older people rely on for every day living costs
Help getting online
There are numerous resources and ideas on this site to help older people get online. Read our suggestions for the best websites which can help your parent here
Within communities, Go ON, UK Online Centres and local council projects are also available to help older people acquire the basic digital skills required to use online services
We offer a great at home computer training service. For details, call now on 03333 441584
Lessons costs £40 per hour.
Or complete the form below and we will contact you. Please use this enquiry form only for computer lessons. If you wish to contact us about any other matter, please email [email protected]
Lyndsey Burton, founder of Choose – a consumer information and market research site covering personal finance and home media services
