Investment bridges the digital divide

Today the Big Lottery Fund is launching the Basic Online Skills programme which will provide £15 million to improve the nation’s online skills. In this guest blog, Martha Lane Fox, Chair of Go ON UK, discusses the impact this investment will have upon people and organisations across the country.

Imagine your life without the web. Staggeringly, 1 in 5 UK adults, 11 million, still don’t have the Basic Online Skills to enjoy the internet’s huge and varied benefits.

They can’t send and receive email, use a search engine, browse, or complete forms online. Worryingly, a large chunk are unable to use it safely and securely. Thousands of businesses and charities are also missing out. Go ON UK, the charity I chair, is on a mission to change this.

The challenge

The UK has built strong digital foundations. The UK’s digital economy accounts for over 8% of GDP –…