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ISBN 0 7559 2820 2 (Web only publication)

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CONSULTATION - REVIEW OF SCOTTISH DIGITAL INCLUSION POLICY

Introduction

1. This written consultation comprises a number of documents:

• This explanatory letter
• A questionnaire
• List of consultees - Appendix 1
• Respondee information form - Appendix 2
• Scottish Executive consultation information - Appendix 3
• List of projects currently being funded by the Scottish Executive - Appendix 4

2. The aim of this explanatory letter is to set out the background to the Scottish Executive's 2001 strategy ' Connecting Scotland's People'; offer information about progress and set out an overview of possible future direction. The structure of the letter broadly reflects the key themes, identified in the previous strategy as Awareness and Promotion, Access, Support, Skills, Content and Community Involvement and builds on these by offering the broader Scottish Executive policy context. As part of the process of policy development leading from this consultation, a race equality impact assessment will be undertaken. In addition we will seek to apply these same impact assessment principles to consideration of policy impact for all excluded groups identified in this letter.

The consultation questionnaire

3. The questionnaire reflects the key themes identified in the 2001 strategy and invites your views on aspects of these. Some questions invite you to consider possible future developments in wider Scottish Executive policy and on the uses of technology for service delivery. However, use of the questionnaire is optional and responses to the consultation, in any format, are welcome. If you feel we have missed anyone from our consultation, please share this document or pass us details so that we may ensure that they have an opportunity to contribute.

4. We are inviting written responses to the questionnaire by Friday 27 January 2006. The consultation document-set is available both as hard-copy and from the Scottish Executive Website http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations. If you have any queries or cannot access the documents in the formats available, please contact Sanjin Kaharevic by telephone on 0131 244 0534 or by email to: sanjin.kaharevic@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

5. Your response will help to shape future Scottish Executive activity where the emphasis is likely to be on supporting and encouraging activities which are sustainable, have potential for national rollout and are evidence based.

6. Key areas for consideration in this consultation are awareness and promotion, partnership working, support for learning, accessibility issues and how to achieve a more consistent approach to many of the strands of the work we do - without becoming prescriptive.

7. The success of the future strategy will be dependant not only on the enthusiasm of practitioners and the support of their communities, but on the achievement of a more cohesive way of working across public, private and voluntary sectors to support work across Scotland.

Current position

8. While a small number of much smaller scale projects ( Appendix 4) are currently being funded by the Scottish Executive and delivered in partnership with other organisations in the voluntary or public sector, the initiatives arising from the 2001 strategy have concluded and evaluations have been published:

9. It is a fact that public spending is now very carefully prioritised and monitored. It is therefore necessary to consider new and innovative ways of working in order to ensure the sustainability of the range of digital inclusion initiatives aimed at excluded groups, while reducing the cost burden to those supporting and funding this activity.

10. To supplement this written consultation, the e-Government and Take-Up team will be holding a number of public meetings and focus groups. As part of the wider policy review process, we have commissioned a consultant to produce a report on Digital Inclusion activity stemming from the 2001 strategy. This has involved some mapping of current initiatives. We have also separately commissioned a literature review of UK Digital Inclusion research and policy initiatives. Findings from this review will be published on the Scottish Executive website when it is available.

Focus Groups

11. A focus group for those with a professional interest in or responsibility for provision and delivery of ICT skills and training at national, local authority or community level was held on 26 October. A further focus group aimed at those involved in planning and delivering services and support for disadvantaged groups whether at strategic level or as practitioners will be held on 28 October. Further focus groups, one aimed at experts and interested parties from the private sector and another seeking views from voluntary and equality groups will be held in late November and dates will be announced on the Digital Inclusion area of the Scottish Executive website. If you are interested in participating in one of these groups, please contact: Sanjin Kaharevic on 0131 244 0534 or by email at:sanjin.kaharevic@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.

Public Meetings

12. A number of public meetings are currently being organised across Scotland with the help of local partners. Areas identified so far are: Dumfries, Dundee, Pollock, Tiree, and Stornoway. Areas have been selected by using Scottish Household survey statistics to identify local authority areas with the lowest levels of ICT ownership and internet access, or because they face particular challenges e.g. rurality or high levels of deprivation. Full details, including confirmation of the locations, venues and arrangements for these public meetings will be placed on the Digital Inclusion pages of the Scottish Executive website and publicised locally.

Background

13. In September 2001, Wendy Alexander, then Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, launched the Scottish Executive's Digital Inclusion Strategy document 'Connecting Scotland's People', which was aimed at overcoming the Digital Divide. This document can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/enterprise/dics-00.asp

14. The Digital Divide is a disparity of access to ICT which affects a range of already excluded individuals. Those on low incomes; the unemployed; older people; people with disabilities; people with learning difficulties; people with literacy and numeracy problems; people excluded by rurality and people for whom English is not their first language - all have lower rates of take-up and access to ICT and the internet. Digitally excluded individuals have less opportunity to take part in the education, training, shopping, entertainment and communications opportunities that are available online. We also know that they are financially disadvantaged as they are unable to realise the savings to be made by making purchases, paying bills, applying for credit or opening a bank account online. They have less opportunity to take up the many jobs in which the ability to use digital technology is now an everyday requirement and as there is a continued drive towards provision of online public services, it is possible that such already excluded individuals will suffer further as a result.

15. The main themes of the 2001 strategy were; Awareness and Promotion, Access, Support, Skills, Content and Community Involvement. A range of activities stemmed from this strategy and 3 major initiatives were introduced:

Awareness and Promotion

"Ensuring excluded individuals and groups are aware of the opportunities that the Web and ICTs can provide".

16. The Scottish Executive Awareness Raising Campaign, was a low level campaign which ran in Scotland during May/June 2003. We worked with a range of organisations to develop local activities to coincide with the campaign. These included free local internet taster sessions in venues such as libraries and Learndirect Scotland centres and free distribution of a basic web skills CD- ROM through public internet access facilities, libraries, Learndirect Scotland centres, the UK Online call-centre, commercial and voluntary sector partners. During the campaign period, a helpline provided callers with location information on taster sessions and gave ongoing contact/location information of public internet access facilities in Scotland, as well as dispatching the Internet Made Easy CD- ROM and an information leaflet to all callers from Scotland. During the Awareness Raising Campaign in September/October 2003, a web awareness campaign based around national press advertising and regional radio coverage took place. This aimed to involve communities as well as public, commercial and voluntary sector partners.

Access

"Providing access to the web and ICTs at the time, place, method and price appropriate to the needs and lifestyles of disadvantaged communities and individuals."

17. The Public Internet Access Points initiative ( PIAPs) , which put approximately 1,600 computers in over 800 different venues, was the Scottish Executive's means of providing cheap or free access in places people already visited. They have provided access to around 100,000 users who lack home access, and around 40,000 users who have no other public access. While they have been particularly effective in attracting unemployed users and have had a greater impact on disadvantaged areas, they have not succeeded in attracting older people to any great extent, and have not been an effective way of getting new people to use the internet.

18. It appears that two types of targeting have been successful to some extent in the PIAP programme:

19. The environment where PIAPs were situated was critical to their success. Those in the business sector were more likely to site them within the main business area and attract existing customers to use them. The other element that contributed to the level of success was staff support. Guidance was only available in a minority of venues, and staff were available to help in less than half of all venues. The situation was better in the public sector where a third of venues provided guidance and more than half had staff available to help.

20. While this initiative was not sustainable due to the need for considerable ongoing funding and support, the PIAPs report highlights key factors in the success of public internet access; opening hours, visibility, physical access, technical and user support. The report on PIAPs also suggested the most effective way of targeting disadvantaged groups is through agencies/projects that currently work with them as this approach is effective in levering in the necessary support for these target groups.

Support

"Providing reliable, accessible and cost effective sources of advice and support is crucial."

21. Without back-up, many people lose interest or worse, are too afraid even to experiment with technology. Providing reliable, accessible and cost-effective sources of advice and support on ICTs and the internet is crucial.

22. The role of volunteers, whatever the setting, contributes to the success of many initiatives where the reassurance of peer support may appeal to excluded groups that otherwise might be reluctant to engage.

Skills

"Developing the basic computer and technological skills that will instil individuals with the confidence to use the web and ICTs."

23. Learndirect Scotland helps and encourages individuals to take action to improve their own skills and employment prospects. It provides services aimed at streamlining access to lifelong learning and is the brand name for Scotland's one stop shop to learning. It offers advice and information on a range of ICT training opportunities.

24. The successor Individual Learning Account scheme ' ILA Scotland' offers support of up to £200 per year for those residents of Scotland, aged 18 and over, on individual earned income of less than £15,000 per year. This support can be used to help fund a wide variety of courses including a wide range of ICT courses which can be undertaken at various levels and via different modes of study. There is no requirement for ICT courses undertaken in this offer to lead to formal qualification or certification. To complement this offer a £100 per year offer is now available to all residents in Scotland over 18 years of age which can be used to assist funding towards basic skills ICT courses, limited to courses which lead to formal qualification or certification up to and including the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework ( SCQF) level 5.

25. The European Computer Driving Licence ( ECDL) is now probably the most established basic ICT qualification and is recognised by many employers. It is a practical qualification, geared to demonstrating competence in ICT, with a syllabus that is designed to cover the key concepts of computing, its practical applications and their use in the workplace. However, for users, who may already have suffered a less than satisfactory educational experience or who have existing learning difficulties, the structure and content of the course may initially be too demanding and could if offered to a new learner requiring more support, de-motivate that learner from pursuing and completing skills training. Additionally, the increasingly wide range of training available across all sectors while sometimes good quality, may cause confusion by adding to what would seem to be a more than adequate range of comprehensive and effective training programmes and material available.

26. It is important to remember that not all ICT training currently available is delivered in environments where the focus is on attainment, such as educational establishments or learning for work schemes and instead is offered in small community groups or other supportive environments using a more flexible approach that best suits the individual learner. Though basic ICT proficiency is important, the strength of effective Community Learning and Development activity is that it contextualises ICT use in learners lives - thus arguably making the learning more useful, transferable and sustainable, and having a more significant impact on learner's lives.

Content and Community Involvement

"Ensuring that initiatives are sustainable at a local level, and that local communities have a sense of ownership."

"Ensuring that disadvantaged individuals and communities are provided with, or can themselves develop online content and services that they value and wish to use."

27. The Scottish Executive and other Scottish public bodies, including local authorities and the NHS, have made a wide variety of services available online. These range from genealogical searches through to route planning and booking travel tickets with Caledonian MacBrayne.

28. Involving geographic communities in the development of relevant local Web content and local support networks increases the value of the Web to those communities, as well as developing an increased sense of local ownership. There may be opportunities to involve local partners in developing infrastructure and low cost access. In addition, as a by-product of the commitment to developing ICT and web skills in primary and secondary age children at school, we are providing opportunities for transfer of skills between children and their parents.

29. Developing a 'critical mass' of ICT and Web users in geographic communities and in the social networks of disadvantaged individuals will increase the value of the Web to each individual participating, and increase the rate of active participation in the Web. 'Connecting Scotland's People' had identified this as a theme and we are aware that around the country a number of community websites are already supported through Community Learning and Development ( CLD), and in particular through CLD Partnerships (which exist in all local authority areas). The document ' Working and Learning Together to Build Stronger Communities' sets out the Scottish Executive's priority of seeing CLD support targeted to disadvantaged individuals, groups and communities.

Service Delivery and Closing the Opportunity Gap

30. The Scottish Executive's ambition is for world class public services, which are designed and delivered to make sure the interests of those who use them come first. Public services have the power, when delivered effectively and appropriately, to change lives for the better and to support strong communities throughout our nation. We aim to lead the way in efficiency, innovation and productivity.

31. The consequence of not delivering the means by which the digital divide is recognised and dealt with is to widen the gap between the information rich and the information poor. As Scotland has some on-line public sector facilities that are world class, we need to remove the barriers that prevent those with greatest need from accessing these resources. We have to ensure accessibility to delivery channels and take full account of customer segmentation to ensure that access to the service is not limited as a consequence of literacy, age, disability, race, geographic location, income.

32. Ensuring that those in disadvantaged areas or from excluded groups have access to the internet was a key element of the Scottish Executive's social justice strategy launched in 1999. But the contribution of ICT to tackling poverty and disadvantage through our strategy for Closing the Opportunity Gap is now of greater and wider importance.

33. The need to connect up a potential growth in the use of technology in public services particularly in delivery and communications between public sector organisations and the citizen/consumer implies that we have to ensure there is the highest level of digital inclusion possible.

34. Scottish Executive digital inclusion policy should contribute to the targets associated with Closing the Opportunity Gap objectives;

· To increase the chances of sustained employment for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups - in order to lift them permanently out of poverty

· To improve the confidence and skills of the most disadvantaged children and young people - in order to provide them with the greatest chance of avoiding poverty when they leave school;

· To reduce the vulnerability of low income families to financial exclusion and multiple debts - in order to prevent them becoming over-indebted and/or to lift them out of poverty;

· To regenerate the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods - in order that people living there can take advantage of job opportunities and improve their quality of life;

· To increase the rate of improvement of the health status of people living in the most deprived communities - in order to improve their quality of life, including their employability prospects; and

· To improve access to high quality services for the most disadvantaged groups and individuals in rural communities - in order to improve their quality of life and enhance their access to opportunity.

How to Respond to this consultation

We are inviting written responses to the questionnaire by Friday 27 January 2006. The consultation document set is available both as hard-copy and from the Scottish Executive Website http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations. If you have any queries or cannot access the documents in the formats available, please contact Sanjin Kaharevic by telephone on 0131 244 0534 or by email to: sanjin.kaharevic@scotland.gsi.gov.uk. Please take the time to read the information provided in the appendices. If you have any questions or points you wish to discuss as a result of reading this document, you can speak to me, or another member of the e-Government & Take-Up Team by ringing the number at the top of this letter.

Electronic replies and comments should be marked "Digital Inclusion Consultation Response" in the subject box and submitted to the Digital Inclusion mailbox together with a completed Respondent Information Form ( Appendix 2 of this document). You can also telephone Freephone 0800 77 1234 to find out where your nearest public internet access point is.

Hard-copy replies and comments, together with a completed Respondent Information Form ( Appendix 2) and marked "Digital Inclusion Consultation Response", should be addressed to Sanjin Kaharevic, E-Government & Take-Up Team, Scottish Executive, Area 3-G80, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

Ann Sunderland
Digital Inclusion Policy Manager
E-Government and Take-Up Team

Appendices:

List of Consultees
Respondent Information Form (to be returned with your consultation response)
Information on the Scottish Executive consultation process
List of Digital Inclusion projects currently being funded by the Scottish Executive

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