In September 2025 Leeds City Council’s Director of Communities, Housing and Environment provided an update on migration activity in Leeds to the council’s Environment, Housing and Communities Scrutiny Board. The report provides an overview of migration-related developments in Leeds, highlighting key challenges faced by new and settled migrant communities. It outlines the collaborative efforts of Leeds City Council, statutory bodies, and third sector partners in addressing these issues, while identifying areas requiring continued support and scrutiny. Read the full report, appendices, and meeting minutes on the Leeds City Council website.
The report includes a summary of the work of 100% Digital Leeds and third sector delivery partners in supporting digital inclusion for migrants in the 12 months prior to the report being published. 100% Digital Leeds works closely with the Leeds Migration Partnership and the Migrant Access Project, to ensure migrants can access timely and trusted digital support across the city. Key activities have included support with eVisa applications, community listening exercises, and collaboration through funding streams such as the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Leeds Digital Inclusion Fund, QFutures Fund, and SIM gifting.
Scrutiny Board Members were also asked to provide comment on the draft Leeds Migration Strategy 2025 – 2030. The strategy positions digital inclusion as a key enabler of the strategy’s aims and objectives, recognising that digital inclusion is essential for social inclusion.
“As more services, opportunities, and sources of information move online, ensuring that migrants have the skills, access, and confidence to engage digitally is critical. This strategy helps reduce barriers to healthcare, education, employment, and civic participation, supporting migrants to thrive and contribute fully to a digitally connected, inclusive city.”
Draft Leeds Migration Strategy: 2025 – 2030
Supporting digital inclusion for migrant communities
For many migrant communities the barriers to digital inclusion are complex and link to wider factors beyond the common issues of lack of digital skills or access to a device. Those additional barriers include language or literacy needs, cultural considerations, poverty, disabilities, and lack of secure housing.
The 100% Digital Leeds programme works in partnership with local organisations to embed tailored digital support within trusted community services, aiming to reduce digital exclusion. Over the past year, the programme has focused on strengthening digital infrastructure, supporting groups working with refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants, helping them access funding and build capacity to deliver effective digital inclusion initiatives.
eVisas
An eVisa is an electronic record of a person’s immigration status. It provides people with the ability to view and prove their immigration status online. eVisas are accessed via a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account. This can then be used to share information about their immigration status and conditions, such as their right to work or rent in the UK. To apply for an eVisa, people need digital devices with access to the internet, and the digital skills and confidence to navigate the online application system.
The 100% Digital Leeds team has worked with Leeds Migration Partnership to ensure digital inclusion support is in place to help people apply for and use their eVisa. This included raising awareness through the 100% Digital Leeds newsletter, promoting training sessions from community organisations such as Leeds Refugee Forum to help staff, volunteers, and community leaders understand the new system, and prioritising smartphone gifting and SIM gifting initiatives.
“B. arrived in the UK in late 2024 and was struggling with settling in the UK and the process of applying for permanent residency. He couldn’t speak English very well, making the process harder.
He was referred to Holbeck Together and we provided access to a device and data plan which allowed him to begin his application for residency. We also showed him how to download and use apps, including the UK Immigration: ID Check app, and a translation app to make communication easier. Following this initial contact we helped him upload documents and evidence to support his resettlement process and begin an application for his eVisa. Over the course of several visits he managed to open a UK bank account, register with several agencies for work, and also contact a GP and register with health services.
He has now moved to new accommodation near Wakefield and is looking to improve his English via online and in-person learning.”
Testimonial from Holbeck Together
Supporting grassroots organisations
Over the last year, the digital inclusion team has worked with a number of grassroots organisations that have not previously worked with 100% Digital Leeds. These organisations have a deep understanding of the issues that affect and impact upon the communities they support. Many of the organisations are unregistered, constituted groups rather than registered charities. They are often run by people who belong to the community they are supporting, and who share the lived experience of those communities. Many of these organisations support migrant communities.
Anshlah
Anshlah is a constituted group with 42 members, based in SHINE in Harehills. They work to raise aspirations and provide opportunities to the women they support, and they identified digital inclusion as one of the enablers to achieving those outcomes. 100% Digital Leeds worked with Anshlah to identify a range of national and local partners who could support their developing digital inclusion offer. The digital inclusion team helped Anshlah to register with Good Things Foundation’s National Databank to gift free SIM cards to their members, introduced them to colleagues at Leeds Libraries so they could borrow iPads to use with members in the centre, signposted them to resources from Leeds Older People’s Forum’s Be Online Stay Safe project, and brought in the UK Shared Prosperity Fund-funded Digital Inclusion Officer from Voluntary Action Leeds to add extra capacity and support for Anshlah’s digital skills sessions. Anshlah are in the process of setting up a bank account for their organisation. When this is in place, the 100% Digital Leeds team will continue to work with Anshlah to look at funding opportunities where digital inclusion can be positioned as an enabler to achieving the outcomes that Anshlah want to see for their members.
AME for Roma
AME for Roma is a registered society supporting the Gypsy Roma community in Harehills. They are a grassroots organisation at the start of their digital inclusion journey. The society is run by someone who is originally from Romania and has been living in Leeds for 12 years. She created the AME for Roma group to help amplify the community’s voices. 100% Digital Leeds awarded AME for Roma a £500 grant from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to purchase a laptop and smartphone to support the running of the organisation. AME for Roma have joined Good Things Foundation’s National Digital Inclusion Network and National Databank to gift SIM cards to their community, and they are working with 100% Digital Leeds on a project to combat data poverty in partnership with Jangala.
Community Listening Exercises
100% Digital Leeds understands the importance of listening to communities to make sure that digital inclusion initiatives are appropriate and effective. In July and December 2024, 100% Digital Leeds was invited to two Community Listening Exercises by New Wortley Community Association and Give a Gift. Both organisations are rooted in communities with large migrant populations, and support people to integrate and prosper, working to bridge the gap between the assistance provided by statutory agencies and the actual needs of individuals and families.
Key barriers that were identified through the Listening Exercises were the lack of access and support to go online. People also emphasised the systemic disadvantages that cause so much digital exclusion.
“The internet was described as ‘scary when you don’t know how to use it’, implying that some participants would, at the very least, require support from a friend or other knowledgeable community member when accessing opportunities on the internet.
In addition, other participants described the financial barriers that contributed to digital exclusion, with cost being highlighted as a factor in not being able to use the internet. Some participants would use friends’ houses and neighbours’ wifi or use the buses or local shops like Asda, and fast-food restaurants to access on (their) own devices, meaning that they lacked a consistent, independent method of being able to use technology.
Due to these factors, it was felt that communities would benefit from ‘a person to sit with them and help to understand how to access the internet’. This could ideally be a peer support worker from the same background who has both the cultural knowledge to relate to people in communities in question and the digital knowledge they can pass on to them.”
Following these Listening Exercises, both New Wortley Community Association and Give a Gift were supported by 100% Digital Leeds to enhance digital access and support in their communities. Using money from UK Shared Prosperity Fund, 100% Digital Leeds awarded grants of:
- £7,800 to New Wortley Community Centre to refresh their IT suite as part of their HOPE (Help with Opportunities to Prepare for Employment) project. HOPE aims to remove barriers that people face securing meaningful employment, especially those from diverse communities. People can get support with developing English, maths, and digital skills as well as help with CV writing, job searching, applications and interview techniques. New Wortley Community Centre made this video about the HOPE project.
- £10,000 to Give a Gift to buy the equipment they needed to set up an IT suite. This means they can support refugees, asylum seekers, and disadvantaged communities by providing the means to develop their digital skills and engage with services digitally.
UK Shared Prosperity Fund
100% Digital Leeds was allocated £400,000 of UK Shared Prosperity Funding (UKSPF), and all of that money was used to increase the capacity of VCSE organisations to support digital inclusion. The funding had a specific focus on interventions and activities that build people’s confidence to use digital tools and services as an enabler to increase financial resilience.
100% Digital Leeds awarded grants to 39 organisations, including:
- £3,000 to St. Vincent’s Centre Leeds to buy laptops for staff to use to support clients with application forms, ESOL, benefits, and housing.
- £3,500 to Leeds Asylum Seeker’s Support Network to buy tablets for staff to use to improve their own digital skills.
- £5,000 to Women’s Whispers to buy laptops and smartphones to allow the organisation to support Black and ethnically diverse women, including migrant women, fleeing domestic violence.
- £9,000 to RETAS to buy digital equipment for use onsite for clients and staff.
- £14,000 to Leeds Refugee Forum to buy smartphones to gift to refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in need of a device, prioritising those needing support with eVisas. Devices were gifted alongside a SIM card with six months of free data, calls, and texts, via the National Databank.
- £20,000 to Damasq to buy laptops, tablets, charging cabinets and accessories, and a smart screen, to embed digital inclusion into new and existing programmes at Ebor Gardens Community Centre.
Leeds Digital Inclusion Fund
Leeds Digital Inclusion Fund continues to provide funding to VCSE organisations supporting migrants. The Digital Inclusion Fund is a permanent funding stream, with grants awarded on an annual basis. The fund is administered by Leeds Community Foundation in partnership with 100% Digital Leeds, using money raised by the city’s digital and tech sector through Leeds Digital Ball.
Four organisations supporting migrants successfully applied for Leeds Digital Inclusion Fund grants in 2023 and 2024:
RETAS received a grant of £5,000 in 2023 to expand on their existing essential digital skills courses to include upskilling around using NHS digital services, online banking, welfare and benefits services, and finding employment.
“Before completing the course, I had no digital skills and needed help to understand how to use a computer, including how to use a keyboard. Now I can create documents and use shortcuts. I would now like to explore working in IT in the future.”
Service user, RETAS
Complete Woman received grants of £8,840 in 2023 and £9,945 in 2024. They used the grants to run a Digital Hub supporting participants with a tablet lending scheme, gifting SIM cards via the National Databank, and delivering basic digital skills sessions and one-to-one digital support. This enables participants to access the internet, essential services, and information that they previously struggled to engage with. Many beneficiaries have limited or no internet access at home, and this initiative empowers them to independently connect to vital online resources, enhancing their daily lives.
“One of our service users relocated to the UK with her 12-year-old son during the school term. He was unable to secure a school place for half a term and had to stay home during this period. She was a migrant care worker and faced challenges finding stable employment and supporting her son’s educational needs while he was out of school. We provided her with a tablet with data, which allowed her son to access educational resources and stay engaged while at home. We also helped her with personalised support with her job search. With our help, she secured a new job where she feels much more supported. Her son has settled into his new school and is thriving. The digital equipment and support played a key role in helping them transition smoothly into their new environment. We were grateful for her feedback: ‘Thank you for supporting us during our difficult season, we are both in a much better place now’.”
Complete Woman CIC
Meeting Point received a grant of £9,889 in 2024 to set up a Digital Lab where volunteers and staff support clients with digital skills and access. People are supported with digital tools such as New to Leeds, transport and travel apps, and job search sites. Meeting Point also gift SIM cards via the National Databank.
Leeds Refugee Forum received a grant of £10,000 in 2024 to support the continuation of their established digital inclusion support offer. The funding has enabled the continuation of biweekly SIM card gifting drop-ins, provision of an internet café at One Community Centre, lending tablets to people who are in education to further their personal development, provision of digital skills workshops, and support with eVisa applications. The organisation will also be providing 15 beneficiaries struggling to afford wifi with ‘plug in and go’ Get Boxes via 100% Digital Leeds’s partnership with Jangala.
QFutures Fund
The QFutures fund is a partnership between 100% Digital Leeds, broadband provider Quickline, and Leeds Community Foundation. The fund aims to support community organisations working with children and young people to take a holistic approach to digital upskilling and activities for families which aid employability across Leeds and Bradford. Four organisations in Leeds were supported by 100% Digital Leeds to apply for this closed funding opportunity, receiving £5,312.50 per year for up to 3 years. Two of the organisations support migrant communities:
- Afrikindness received funding to embed digital inclusion support into their existing outreach and intervention programme aimed at African communities. Initial plans include a survey of people in LS7 and LS8 to better understand local digital inclusion needs, followed by community focus groups to inform their development of the digital inclusion intervention. The organisation has gone on to deliver a series of digital skills workshops tailored to the needs of the parents they support.
“Before the sessions, I was scared of even opening my laptop. Now I log in confidently, help my child find GCSEPod videos, and even use the internet safely. This training has changed my life and I will still continue with the training.”
Parent learner, Afrikindness
- Give a Gift received funding to deliver weekly digital skills sessions for some of the migrant families they support. Sessions are being developed to support digital literacy, including how to use basic programmes, email, and search for volunteering and training opportunities.
Digital inclusion and financial resilience
Multiply was a government funded scheme to improve adult numeracy skills, aiming to boost people’s ability to use maths in their daily life, both at home and work. The Leeds City Council Multiply scheme was managed by the Employment and Skills service. 100% Digital Leeds worked with Employment and Skills and third sector partners to use Multiply to support communities hit hardest by the cost-of-living crisis. Over three funding rounds, 19 of 100% Digital Leeds’s third sector delivery partners received funding to support almost 700 learners to improve their financial resilience by increasing their maths skills and their digital inclusion. Each learner was gifted a digital device and connectivity.
- Damasq received £5,000 in 2023 and £19,000 in 2024 to deliver Multiply sessions. Their sessions, delivered in Arabic, supported 48 migrants with digital skills and household budgeting.
“I was able to visit one of Damasq’s sessions. It was delivered by one of Damasq’s members, a lady who works in user interface design and user experience. It was clear that having the class delivered by a peer put Damasq’s learners at ease. It also meant the session could be delivered in Arabic. Delivering the session in the first language of Damasq’s members removed any potential language barriers, making the session more engaging and easier for people to understand. The session covered the basics of internet shopping, a topic which appealed to the learners and was a great way to combine basic numeracy skills with digital skills. As an added bonus, the lady leading the session told me that playing this role allowed her to build her confidence in presenting.”
Alice James Hopton, 100% Digital Leeds.
- RETAS received grants of £6,000 in 2023 and £14,000 in 2024 to deliver Multiply sessions. 40 migrants with English as an additional language and very limited digital skills were supported with basic digital skills, digital skills for financial resilience, and online safety.
“The course was very good because I started from scratch. Now I’ve learnt to do things on the computer like making files and saving documents and I know how to stay safe online. It will help me to find work, access courses, and study.”
Multiply learner, RETAS
SIM gifting via the National Databank
100% Digital Leeds has supported 117 organisations to join Good Things Foundation’s National Databank, which provides organisations with free SIM cards with data, texts and calls to gift to people that couldn’t otherwise afford connectivity. Databank organisations supporting migrants in Leeds include Mears, Leeds Refugee Forum, Complete Woman CIC, Community Ambition, Women’s Whispers and Meeting Point CIC. Migrants can be signposted to SIM gifting sites and other digital inclusion support via 100% Digital Leeds’s Community Support Directory.
100% Digital Leeds run a quarterly Leeds Databank User Group in partnership with Good Things Foundation. The User Group has provided organisations supporting migrants with tips on gifting SIM cards to people with English as a second language, promoting the offer of international calls via the O2 SIM cards, and distributing materials to help people with ESOL activate their O2 SIM cards. Horsforth Chaplaincy Project secured a £1,000 activation grant in 2024 from the National Databank to establish their digital inclusion services within the charity.
Leeds Refugee Forum were invited to the Databank User Group to share their approach and the success of their SIM card drop-in sessions. To manage the high levels of need, Leeds Refugee Forum run two drop-in sessions a week for people needing SIM cards. They target advertisement of the sessions to people accessing support across Leeds Migration Partnership. Between June 2023 and June 2024, 715 service users were given SIM cards by Leeds Refugee Forum.
“Providing SIM cards helps our service users feel more connected to their local and global communities and with their loved ones.”
Leeds Refugee Forum
Include+ grant to research effective device gifting
In 2024, 100% Digital Leeds worked with Horsforth Chaplaincy Project to develop a digital inclusion support offer for asylum seekers at Mercure Leeds Parkway Hotel. Increasing support at this hotel was identified as a priority because its location on the outskirts of the city makes it difficult for asylum seekers to access services located centrally, leaving residents isolated. 100% Digital Leeds supported Horsforth Chaplaincy to sign up to the National Digital Inclusion Network and they were able to access 50 smartphones via the National Device Bank, to be distributed to asylum seeking men at the hotel, along with data SIMs from the National Databank.
100% Digital Leeds supported Horsforth Chaplaincy to successfully apply for a £5,000 INCLUDE+ research grant to explore how to most effectively gift devices to asylum seekers. Horsforth Chaplaincy’s research will help to inform national practice, ensuring migrants can be effectively supported with device gifting to achieve the best possible outcomes.
Driving corporate device donations to Solidaritech
100% Digital Leeds has worked with Solidaritech for many years. As part of Leeds Digital Festival 2024, the 100% Digital Leeds team hosted the Empowerment Through Technology webinar featuring speakers from 100% Digital Leeds, Solidaritech, Emerald Publishing, and Leeds Asylum Seekers’ Support Network.
In the last 12 months, Solidaritech has refurbished and gifted over 1,300 devices to digitally excluded refugees and asylum seekers across Yorkshire and the Humber. The webinar was designed to inform businesses and other organisations of the positive impact of donating unwanted equipment to Solidaritech, and the processes they have in place to enable secure donating. Solidaritech then work with local organisations supporting those from migrant backgrounds to gift the equipment to people who need it most.
Maximising the impact of social value
100% Digital Leeds is leveraging Tech sector support to maximise the impact of corporate Social Value initiatives to increase the capacity of community organisations. One example of this is 100% Digital Leeds’s work with Virgin Media O2 to implement their ESG commitments to best effect. This has seen eight charities share a donation of 100 SIM enabled tablets, and ten charities receive fibre broadband connections with no costs for five years. Organisations supporting migrants that have benefitted from this support include PAFRAS, who received 20 tablets, and Hamwattan, who were supported to install wifi for use by staff and the public at the Hamwattan Centre.
“Having a tablet to be able to stay occupied and to keep in contact with friends and family both within the UK, and in their home countries, is so important for people’s wellbeing. A lot of people are keen to engage with ESOL classes in Leeds, but homework is set remotely. Having a tablet with connectivity helps people to progress quicker with developing their English Language skills.”
PAFRAS
Next steps
The 100% Digital Leeds team will continue to work with Leeds Migration Partnership. The team has already contributed to the survey on the refresh of Leeds Strategic Coordinated and Inclusive Approach to Migration 2021-2025. They will follow that initial feedback with more in-depth discussions with Leeds Migration Team. They will also continue to support and develop the digital inclusion offer of VCSE partners who work with people from migrant communities. The focus of the 100% Digital Leeds team is to ensure the digital inclusion infrastructure across Leeds is bigger, stronger, and more sustainable year-on-year. This means that when people from migrant communities experience digital exclusion, they will be able to find the help they need, wherever and whenever they need it, delivered by people and organisations they trust.