Electronic Government
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that people who cannot afford mobile data can access (a) the NHS app and (b) other government digital services without incurring personal cost.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan
In February 2025, the government published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan which outlines the first five actions we are taking on digital inclusion. This includes ensuring that digital services are inclusive and accessible. The industry pledges in the Plan include providing free mobile data to individuals in need and supporting community hubs to provide free Wi-Fi to allow people to get online without incurring personal cost.
In addition, in August we launched the £9.5m Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, to support and expand local community initiatives to get people online and help tackle data poverty.
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