Agenda item

Approval was sought from the Cabinet Member to commence a procurement exercise to secure specialist provider support to develop and initiate implementation of a public health digital inclusion strategy for Derbyshire over a period of 18 months and up to a value of £0.150m.

          It was estimated that approximately 1.9 million households in the UK did not have access to the internet and were digitally excluded and up to 9 million people struggled to use the internet independently.  The COVID-19 pandemic had further highlighted the digital divide and there was a growing recognition of the importance of internet access within family and social networks, communities and the economy, accelerating the need to address the digital divide.  Figures showed that in Derbyshire, 62,000 people may never have used the internet and many more lacked basic digital skills.

          There was a strong correlation between digital exclusion, financial exclusion and social exclusion.  COVID-19 had led to a widening of this digital divide, as more products and services moved online and became ‘digital by default’.   Those facing digital exclusion were likely to have other challenges and factors that made it difficult for them to access and engage with services and/or get support and information.  Digital inclusion was essential to reduce health inequalities and help tackle financial and social exclusion.  Further local studies had highlighted that digital approaches were transforming society and was at the heart of how public, social and economic life was configured.

          In April 2021 the Public Health Investment Panel received and supported an application for investment to initiate the development of a public health approach to address digital exclusion. The proposal put forward a strengths-based collaborative effort to tackle and break down barriers to creating a digitally inclusive Derbyshire; the key elements were detailed within the report.  The proposal and costings had been informed and benchmarked by examples of good practice including the successful model adopted by the ‘100% Digital Leeds’ programme, which was used to inform the proposal outlined.  Further background information could be found in Appendix 1.

          Investment in digital inclusion would drive two types of economic return:

1.    Direct savings to the investor by encouraging and enabling beneficiaries to use online public services which had a lower delivery cost.

2.    Indirect savings and economic benefits relating to the wider effects of digital inclusion on behaviour: these include personal cost savings e.g. better financial products available online, potential gains from earning, impact on employment rates, savings to the NHS (through reduced face to face dependency on Primary Care).

          Key stakeholders had already demonstrated a significant appetite to be involved in partnership work around this agenda plus a well-established Public Health locality programme offered the opportunity to connect with local people, supporting and empowering them to influence the project planning and development.   A wide variety of work was underway and additional capacity was needed to strengthen, build, identify, engage and link partners across the complex system.

          RESOLVED – that the Cabinet Member approve commencement of a procurement exercise, to secure specialist provider support to develop and initiate implementation of a public health digital inclusion strategy for Derbyshire, over a period of 18 months and up to a value of £0.150m.