Virgin Money Foundation will receive £3 million of funding over the next three years to help tackle digital poverty across Glasgow and the North East of England.
The funds, donated by Virgin Money, will be used to help support community organisations known as Community Anchors, to deliver a range of initiatives designed to bridge the digital divide and improve digital skills and digital confidence, with all the positive consequences that brings. The organisations will be able to apply for a grant of up to £100k over a period of three years to address the issues that hold their communities back from being digitally included.
Virgin Money colleagues who volunteer in schools across the UK, will also be eligible to apply for a grant of up to £2,000 for their chosen school, to support digital inclusion initiatives. Virgin Money colleagues, trained as Digital Champions, each have two paid volunteer days per year, enabling them to get involved directly and support local communities that are experiencing digital poverty.
This new funding follows a report1 from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), in partnership with Virgin Money, which shows a stark digital divide between households. Across 28.2 million UK households, 11 per cent cannot access the internet at home, resulting in an offline disadvantage that can mean potentially higher costs. The CSJ research found that without internet access, consumers can pay as much as 25 per cent more on essential goods and services. In Scotland and the North East of England, the proportion of households without internet access at home rises to 12.5 per cent and 14.5 per cent, respectively.
The report also shows that while over 65s make up the majority of digitally excluded Brits (at just over 70 per cent), a significant proportion – 29 per cent – are of working age and 22.1 per cent of those working age people are unemployed, compared to 3.8 per cent nationally. Meanwhile, households with low incomes are also almost twice as likely to say that they do not have access to the internet at home compared to those households on higher incomes, at 19.6 per cent and 10.6 per cent respectively.
The digital divide has implications across everyday life. A recent Which? report2 into train fare prices highlighted the importance of digital access for getting from A to B at the best price, with passengers buying their tickets at the station paying more than those who bought tickets online. The research found that online fares were cheaper almost 75 per cent of the time with same day travel costing over 50 per cent more from a station machine.
Nancy Doyle-Hall, executive director of Virgin Money Foundation, said: “Lack of digital access can have a real financial impact on households and this £3 million funding from Virgin Money will resource local organisations to give bespoke support to people experiencing digital poverty. As a result of this support our hope is that there will be a range of positive outcomes, from people being able to access better jobs, housing and healthcare to a reduction in social isolation.
“There is a clear link between social exclusion and digital poverty and therefore eradicating the digital divide is an increasingly important part of supporting communities to thrive. We look forward to distributing these funds to Community Anchors that deliver positive change in Glasgow and the North East of England and to seeing the results of their work.”
James Peirson, general counsel and purpose officer at Virgin Money said: “Virgin Money Foundation plays an important role in supporting grassroots communities and people in need. Many of us take for granted how easy it is to get online, but for some having regular access to the internet isn’t as straightforward. Virgin Money is committed to helping bridge the digital divide and we hope that this new funding will go a long way in aiding Virgin Money Foundation in their drive to support community groups who are working hard to help local people get online and boost their digital skills.”