Slide 1

Digital Exclusion: the impact of Universal Credit and how to develop residents digital skills Kathy Valdes Digital Unite April 2015

Slide 2

Difficulty of Digital Inclusion is increasing The challenge of getting the last fifth of the population online is growing every year Likelihood of non- users getting internet access

Slide 3

Source IPSOS Mori May 2014 Universal Credit brings this into sharper focus 40% working age social housing tenants have no access to the internet Of those who do have access, 51% wouldnt be confident making a benefit application online (equivalent to 30% of all respondents)

Slide 4

NHF: Welfare Reform Impact Assessment From the Housing Associations 98% are concerned about the tenants capability to cope with monthly budgeting 96% were concerned about the required IT infrastructure 94% were concerned about the capability of tenants to access online systems 90% were concerned about the additional resources needed to support tenants with the transition to Universal Credit From the tenants 92% would prefer their housing benefit to be paid directly their landlord 68% of affected tenants who currently budget regularly would not be confident planning their budget on a monthly basis January 2015

Slide 5

(c) Digital Unite Ltd Mitigating the risk to income

Slide 6

Universal Credit latest Accelerated rollout plan from February Introduced in 151 job centres nationally between February and April Local authorities starting to be told of their own go-live dates Already in action in Bath, Hammersmith, Harrogate, Inverness, North West England, Shotton (Wales) and Sutton. Full implementation date delayed until end of 2019 When fully in place estimated to benefit the economy by 7bn each year

Slide 7

UC: the actual form Claimants will need to know a range of info before starting the form The official name for the type of accommodation they live in The cost of their rent excluding service charges Details of the account where the money will be sent to That they cant save the form That they should take a picture or screen shot to evidence submission

Slide 8

Not just about Welfare Reform Improving residents lives Skilling residents to be digital citizens Saving money on delivering some services Transformation of service delivery Rapidly growing expectation form some customers for digital services

Slide 9

Significant increase over the last two years in offliners citing not interested Source BBC Media Literacy 2012 & 2014 Lack of skills and interest is the main barrier Dont see the need 33% Not interested 50% Uncomfortable with technology 25% Dont know how to use it 20% Lack of skills and interest is the main barrier

Slide 10

Compulsion - being forced online Security fear of losing control Privacy prying state/companies What deters people from going online Source Ofcom/Ipsos Mori June 2013

Slide 11

Reasons to go online Internet newcomers are drawn in by: Information seeking (42%): safe with more benefits to offline alternative Communication with family and friends (33%) Info to help with everyday life (21%) Research products and services (21%) Source: BBC Media Literacy: Understanding Digital Capabilities June 2012

Slide 12

Mobile stat, Verse One, 2013 / You Gov 2013 Big opportunity of mobile 91% of adults own and use a mobile device 63% use it as their main means of being online Over 55s now account for a third of the tablet market

Slide 13

Survey conducted by Affinity Sutton and Digital Unite among 64 housing providers representing over 3 million residents in January 2014. What really motivates social housing to get residents online? Universal Credit 80% Improving residents life- outcomes 60% Reduce admin costs 37% Help residents save money 37% Ensure residents can pay rent online 24% Support job seekers 20% Support all residents equally 20%

Slide 14

Survey conducted by Affinity Sutton and Digital Unite among 64 housing providers representing over 3 million residents in January 2014. What are the real barriers for HAs? Securing adequate funding to address digital inclusion (52%) Motivating residents to get online (33%) Hardware and connectivity (10%)

Slide 15

Ground breaking collaboration

Slide 16

BBC Media Literacy: Understanding Digital Capabilities June 2012 Why Digital Champions? 81% learn informally Website guides Friends Family Colleagues

Slide 17

Beginners need local and regular support Meet Harry At 77 years he had never used a computer though was interested In September 2013 he met Mike, his local Digital Champion Mike started showing him how to use a keyboard and mouse and switch on a computer Harry saw Mike twice a week by May 2014 he could surf the net and send emails

Slide 18

Digital Champions need support too! What this course did was make me use some features I had previously avoided (Twitter and Facebook) and give me the confidence to pass it on to others. I am an experienced ICT tutor in adult education but really felt the course upped my skills in this digital age. It has been very useful and I have been able to produce a guide for volunteers and staff who may not feel confident about helping others. So helpful to learn about the basics like different email accounts for shopping. The most important thing I learn was the different learning approaches and how to plan a learning session.

Slide 19

And organisations need help to help their helpers! End learner Organisation Digital Champions

Slide 20

Learner activities with Digital Champions

Slide 21

Thank you for listening www.digitalunite.com Kathy.valdes@digitalunite.com 07866136310 @digitalunite digitalunite