Links to statistics, studies, and other literature, useful to anyone looking to better understand digital inclusion and exclusion.
The scale of digital exclusion
UK Consumer Digital Index 2024
Lloyds Bank, 2024
The Consumer Digital Index is the UK’s largest study of digital and financial lives. First published in 2016, the report uses transactional and survey data. Varied research with over 35,000 people has been completed so far.
Online Nation 2024
Ofcom, 2024
Online Nation is an annual report that looks at what people are doing online, how they are served by online content providers and platforms, and their attitudes to and experiences of using the internet.
Adults’ media use and attitudes report 2024
Ofcom, 2024
The annual adults’ media use and attitudes report provides research that looks at media use, attitudes and understanding, and how these change over time. The report also includes a particular focus on those who tend not to participate digitally.
Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report 2024
Ofcom, 2024
This report examines children’s media literacy. It provides detailed evidence on media use, attitudes and understanding among children and young people. The report also includes findings relating to parents’ views about their children’s media use, and the ways that parents seek – or decide not – to monitor or limit use of different types of media.
House of Lords Digital Exclusion Report
House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee, 2023
The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee published a report on digital exclusion in which it called for the government to devise a new strategy and create a dedicated unit to address the issue.
Digital Youth Index
Nominet, 2023
The Nominet Digital Youth Index is a national annual benchmarking research identifying and monitoring the key drivers, issues and opportunities in young people’s relationship with digital technology across the UK.
Facts and figures about digital inclusion
and older people
Age UK, 2024
Age UK’s review of the evidence surrounding digital exclusion of older people.
Exploring the barriers to digital inclusion
Exploring the relationship between deep poverty and digital exclusion
Good Things Foundation, 2024
Report commissioned by Good Things Foundation and Trussell trust asking the questions how does digital exclusion drive people deeper into poverty, or trap people in deep poverty? And what role does digital exclusion play in cutting off access to services, support, or opportunities to get on in life?
Digital inclusion: What the main UK datasets tell us
Good Things Foundation, 2024
A dataset that explores the main barriers to digital inclusion including lack of access to digital devices and connectivity, lack of digital skills and lack of confidence to engage with the online world safely and securely.
UK Essential Digital Skills for Work
Future.Now and Lloyds Bank, 2023
This Essential Digital Skills report provides an overview of the specific digital work abilities that the UK labour force lack, as well as an understanding of who and where.
Digital inclusion and health
Mitigating risks of digital exclusion in health systems
Good Things Foundation, 2024
This guide aims to help policy makers, commissioners and service providers to support discussions about digital inclusion in primary and secondary care.
Inclusive digital healthcare: a framework for NHS action on digital inclusion
NHS, 2023
Digital guidance on digital inclusion for health and social care, to be used to design and implement inclusive digital approaches and technologies within NHS services.
Offline and isolated: How digital exclusion impacts access to healthcare for people seeking asylum in England
British Red Cross, 2023
This report finds that people seeking asylum in England are at risk of digital exclusion, creating barriers to healthcare access and social connection. Digital exclusion can prevent people seeking asylum from booking appointments, ordering prescriptions, or navigating to appointments. It can also make it harder to communicate with family and friends, which often leading to social isolation and declining physical and mental health.
Digital Appointment Check-In
Your Healthwatch Leeds, 2023
People in Leeds were asked about their experience of booking and attending healthcare
appointments, face-to-face, over the telephone or online.