The five pillars

Southwark’s technology and digital strategy is committed to leaving no one behind in the digital age. Our focus is aimed at addressing the digital divide, ensuring that all our residents have access to the tools, skills, and technology. We are dedicated to providing equitable access to fast, reliable internet throughout the Borough and empowering our residents with the essential digital skills to navigate the digital landscape.

Connectivity

We've committed to ensuring more residents benefit from the digital revolution by providing free and affordable broadband on council estates. Affordability has become a reoccurring issue concerning access to broadband. Citizens Advice found that one in six broadband customers struggled to pay their bill between March 2020 and January 2021. Affordable broadband is essential to ensuring Southwark residents can access council services, employment opportunities, education, and living connected lives.

To deliver this, we will:

• collaborate with internet service providers to introduce affordable and discounted internet plans for low-income residents, ensuring widespread access to fast and reliable internet
• continue to establish public Wi-Fi hotspots in community spaces, parks, and public buildings, offering free internet access to residents without reliable connectivity at home
• provide a full-fibre connectivity grant to support community centres with poor connectivity
• support 500 residents with free connectivity
• continue to support residents with the broadband router lending scheme available at libraries

Devices

Digital poverty plays a key part of digital exclusion. Many residents are unable to afford devices that allow them to connect to the Internet. Providing access to smart phones, tablets, laptops, or computers is an essential part of achieving the goals of the strategy overall. An Ofcom survey from January to March 2020 found that 9% of households containing children did not have home access to a laptop, desktop PC or tablet.

To help with this, we will:

• implement device lending programs that provide residents with access to smartphones, tablets, or laptops to bridge the digital divide and ensure equal opportunities for participation
• provide 80 tenants and residents association (TRAs) with laptops and bespoke digital inclusion support
• continuously update and circulate relevant donation schemes available to Southwark residents
• supporting the London National Databank to repurpose our disused devices and distribute to residents in need

Digital skills

As part of our digital journey, it is important to provide support for those that are not able to use the internet. The Lloyds 2021 Essential Digital Skills Report estimates that one-fifth of the UK population lacks essential digital skills for life. This includes the ability to connect a device to WiFi, and open an Internet browser to access websites. This aspect focuses on residents in the borough that are digitally excluded, lack basic digital skills and the work we will do to support them.

The Council’s workforce and digital skills will be crucial in our ability to respond to new challenges and support residents. We will develop digital training platforms to improve employee's skills in the latest technologies and tools relevant to their roles. This will form part of our Well-Run Council pillar.

A digitally inclusive society relies having the right skills to be able to take forward the necessary work. It is predicted that 75% of jobs will require advanced digital skills by 2030. Current research shows 82% of advertised openings require some level of digital skills. This channel focuses on the promotion of jobs and training for our residents, helping to ensure nobody is left behind.

To deliver this, we will:

• establish community centres or hubs equipped with digital training facilities to enhance technological literacy among residents
• implement programmes to bridge the digital divide, ensuring that all residents have access to and benefit from digital technologies
• establish digital mentorship programs, where tech-savvy community members or volunteers assist others in developing digital skills through one-on-one or group sessions
• conduct awareness campaigns to promote the importance of digital inclusion, dispelling myths, and encouraging residents to actively participate in digital initiatives
• work with technology partner Infosys to launch a new digital inclusion platform for residents and SMEs to improve their digital skills by Q4 24/25
• update the Southwark Essential Digital Skills assessment tool to assess local needs and to improve understanding
• update the Southwark digital skills provision map with a more user-friendly page
• continue to deliver face to face digital inclusion sessions for residents across the borough
• continue to support our resident digital champions with bespoke workshops and resources to support the upskilling of resident’s digital skills
• the launch of a new digital inclusion platform for residents and SMEs to improve their digital skills by Q4 24/25
• develop a drop-in at Southwark Resource Centre to support disabled residents and residents with mental health issues
• developing a drop-in with Bells Gardens to offer specific support with council services
• adhere to WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards to ensure digital content is perceivable, operable, and understandable for all users
• incorporate features such as alternative text for images and sufficient colour contrast to enhance accessibility
• ensure compatibility with assistive technologies such as screen readers, voice recognition software, and magnification tools
• provide clear instructions and intuitive navigation to facilitate ease of use for individuals with disabilities

Innovation

We want to better understand the needs of our residents and provide them with better services by using the data we hold.

To deliver this, we will:

• encourage innovation by organising hackathons or workshops
• work with the London Digital Exclusion Taskforce to support digital inclusion initiatives across London
• support local organisations with funding bids for digital inclusion activities