Digit researchers’ policy brief on Digital Poverty
13 September 2022
A new policy brief by Digit researchers highlights that 1 in 10 of England’s poorest households (9 percent) reduce spending on food or clothes to afford phone or home internet, whilst almost 1 in 5 (17 percent) run out of data before the end of each month.
Digital Poverty in the UK, Dr Becky Faith and Kevin Hernandez with James Beecher and published by the Institute for Development Studies, draws from data from a survey with households in England with an annual income of under £25,000 about their online connectivity. It found that 1 in 5 households have no access at all to the internet. This figure rises to nearly third of disabled people in the same income bracket, and nearly half of those over 65.
The Policy Brief has been reported in the media including on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio London and BBC Look East.