A major new report from Age UK argues that a “dual approach” is needed to prevent millions being digitally excluded: a big and sustained digital inclusion initiative, plus protected offline access to essential services – including face-to-face banking.

The new report, “Digital Done Right”, shows that at present only 1.6 million over-65s in England could be described as digitally included while 1.4 million are digitally excluded. This leaves the majority, 7.9 million, somewhere in the middle

The Charity warns that continuing to ‘muddle through’ towards an increasingly digital future will leave many millions of older people excluded and disenfranchised

The analysis in the report sets out where older people in England are when it comes to their use of and familiarity with digital technology.

Critically, the Charity explains that the conventional wisdom of older people either being “online” or “offline” is overly simplistic. In fact, the older population sits on a spectrum that is better described as comprising four broad groups, ranging from the “digitally included” at one end to the “digitally excluded” at the other.

The report also makes clear that there are far fewer over-65s with the confidence and skills to use digital technology with ease than policymakers like to assume.

The Charity says that this reality means that as we move towards becoming an increasingly digital society, the Government needs to step up and lead a major digital inclusion effort, while protecting offline access to essential services for those who are not digitally savvy.

This dual approach is crucial, they say: otherwise, we will leave millions of older people cut off from essential services which they depend on – including banking and the NHS.  

Age UK’s analysis finds that in England, among the over-65s:

• 15% (equivalent to 1.6 million) are fully digitally included
• 47% (equivalent to 5.2 million) are partially digitally included
• 25% (equivalent to 2.7 million) are partially digitally excluded
• 13% (equivalent to 1.4 million) are digitally excluded

Only the 1.6 million digitally included older people are using online technology routinely at home as well as while out and about, and for the tasks often viewed as the most challenging to do digitally – banking and managing their interactions with the NHS. People in this group are sufficiently confident and capable to use digital technology without help.

The largest group of 5.2 million older people who are partially digitally included do fewer activities online and mostly at home, rather than when out. Most bank and shop online but only just over half manage their healthcare online. About a third are helped to go online sometimes.

Most of the 2.7 million partially digitally excluded group go online at least once a week, typically at home rather than while out. About one in three bank online, and just under one in four manage their healthcare digitally. Most are helped to go online some or all of the time and overall they carry out a narrower range of activities digitally, compared to the partially included group. 

Finally, the 1.4 million digitally excluded group don’t go online at all. Half (49%) say this is because their IT skills are not good enough; one in three (30%) say it’s because they don’t trust the internet with regard to fraud and sharing their data; and a quarter (24%) because they have no reason to do so.

Breaking down the data by health, wealth and gender

The research also found that 1 in 5 older men are digitally included, compared to 1 in 10 older women; and that people without disabilities, with better health and with more comfortable finances are more likely to be “digitally included” and “partially digitally included”, while those with disabilities, in poor health or who struggle more with their finances are more likely to be “partially digitally excluded” and “digitally excluded”.

In other words, digital exclusion seems to track other forms of exclusion among older people quite closely.  

The impacts of digital exclusion

In its report Age UK details how digital exclusion is increasingly holding back older people in many areas of daily life, including managing their money, engaging with the NHS, parking and paying for transport and accessing council services.

Crucially, it also sets out what a successful digital transition looks like and takes to achieve, drawing on lessons from the programme to switch from copper telephone landlines to “Digital Voice” that is currently underway.

The Charity also states that whenever it happens, the future transition from digital terrestrial television/Freeview to internet-delivered TV should be accompanied by a digital inclusion support programme.

It says that it does not believe that Ministers should allow the broadcasters to proceed with this transition until the issues of affordability, accessibility and usability that it raises have been properly addressed. TV is a vital source of companionship and information for many older people so it is absolutely crucial that this future transition is planned carefully and carried out well – better than those we have seen to date.

For this to happen Age UK thinks the Government must take responsibility and strategically lead it, directly or indirectly.

The report’s recommendations are:

1 The Government should oversee and ensure the development of a sustained national digital inclusion programme, in partnership with the public, private and voluntary sectors.

2 The terrestrial broadcasters should not be allowed to shift to internet only TV until there are proven solutions well into the process of development or in place with respect to usability, accessibility and affordability.

3 The Government should legislate to guarantee continued offline access to all essential services.

4 The Government should legislate to protect access to face-to-face banking.

5 The Government should step up and exercise strategic leadership over our transition to an increasingly digital society. This should include setting out minimum standards for the design of apps and digital journeys for all essential services, including banking and the NHS; and also for customer service support for people who run into difficulty when engaging with services online.

Both sets of standards should be developed in partnership with the public and private organisations concerned. Taking a more strategic approach will also mean that the Government Digital Service will need strengthening and expanding.

6 The Government should develop guidance for essential services on managing digital transitions, including the transparent governance and accountability arrangements required.

7 A new, robust Government-led initiative is needed to combat the growing risk of online scams, the understandable fear of which is a major factor in some people’s decisions to stay away from the internet.

Caroline Abrahams CBE, Charity Director at Age UK said: “Our new research shatters the illusion that the vast majority of older people have the confidence and skills to live happily in a digital world. They don’t and this is scarcely surprising: they did not grow up with the internet and some did not encounter it during their working lives either.

“Of course, lots of older people have come to use and enjoy the internet since and are highly proficient, but by no means all. In fact, only about 1 in 8 over-65s are what might be regarded as fully digitally included.  

“As we head towards becoming an increasingly digital society we must ensure that no one is left behind and that requires the Government to take a dual approach: firstly, they should lead an ambitious and sustained digital inclusion programme, in partnership with the private and voluntary sectors; and secondly, they should protect offline access to essential services like banking and the NHS, so no one is shut out and disadvantaged as a result.

“Frankly, over the last few years we have muddled through as a country on digital inclusion, making do with dribs and drabs of short-term funding and the goodwill of community groups and volunteers. This cannot go on: millions of people of all ages, not only older ones, need support to either go online for the first time, or to develop their online skills so they can navigate the internet confidently and safely.

“These capabilities are no longer just ‘nice to have’, they are becoming essential. As a result, Government must step up and take responsibility for managing our national transition ‘from analogue to digital’, and for doing it in a way that is genuinely inclusive.

“At the same time, Ministers must realise that we will never reach a position in which everyone is online. Even those of us who are proficient internet users for most of our lives may reach a point when this is no longer the case, usually because of physical or mental ill-health, sometimes because of cost.

“For all our sakes, and for the sake of the 4.1 million older people today who are either partially digitally excluded or not online at all, there always needs to be a good non-digital alternative for accessing essential services. Legislation and national standards should be put in place to guarantee this.

“At Age UK we believe there are many good reasons for older people to be online, but there are also some big risks, especially online scams, which the Government must do more to help us all to manage. In addition, many older people feel ‘bullied’ to go online and looked down on if they haven’t got the same online skills as someone fifty years younger, who grew up with digital tech, whereas they grew up with pen and paper.

“This is profoundly unfair and can have terrible consequences: for example, we routinely hear from older people who have given up trying to get help from their GP, jeopardising their health.  

“Working with our brilliant local Age UKs, we want to play our part in supporting many more older people to become confident internet users, but we can’t do it without proper funding: a national digital inclusion initiative involving the private and voluntary sectors, working alongside public services, is long overdue – and could make a real difference.”