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Age Concern and Help the Aged welcome the appointment of Martha Lane Fox as the Government’s new Champion for Digital Inclusion‚ and the establishment of the Digital Task Force‚ including Age Concern and Help the Aged Chief Executive Tom Wright. 

The Champion for Digital Inclusion and Task Force were announced at the launch of the new Digital Britain report‚ which revealed a shocking 17 million people are still excluded from digital technology.

Digital inclusion is particularly pronounced for older people‚ with only 30% of people aged 65 and over ever using the internet^i.

The report also proposed a 50p per month levy on landline telephones‚ with the money raised paying for next generation broadband for 90% of the population.

However‚ recent OFCOM research found that access to faster broadband was not the primary reason for people not having the internet at home. Forty two per cent of adults stated that their main reason was due to lack of interest or need.

Over two fifths (43 per cent) of adults who currently do not have access to the internet at home say that they would choose to remain unconnected even if they were given a free PC and broadband connection.  Some also felt they were too old or believed that it is for younger peopleⁱⁱ.

Leonie Vlachos‚ Digital Inclusion Manager‚ Age Concern and Help the Aged said: “The addition of a Digital Champion and the formation of the Digital Task Force is a great step towards helping all interested older people become digitally included.

“Those who are digitally excluded suffer financially and socially – more must be done to support potentially excluded older people now and in the future to engage with new technologies.

“However‚ the key for getting older people digitally engaged is not just making broadband faster and more widely available‚ it’s also about making sure education and training is available. Universal broadband is great‚ but digitally excluded older people also need education and training to demystify online technology and learn about the potential benefits of going digital.”

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Notes to Editors

• Age Concern England and Help the Aged have joined together to form a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people.
• Age Concern has worked in partnership with BT since 2005 to tackle social exclusion among older people by promoting digital inclusion.
• Visit our web pages on Technology and older people
  

i    Internet Access 2008 Households and Individuals‚ ONS‚ August 2008
ii   Accessing the Internet at Home‚ OFCOM‚ JUNE 2009

Media contact:
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