Manchester has been ranked as the UK’s leading location for digital inclusion in a table compiled by the Uswitch home services comparison website.
Under ratings compiled from the local poverty index and numbers of digital inclusion hubs and databanks, Manchester came top above Coventry and York.
With a poverty index of 59.2 out of 100, Manchester had 11.2 digital inclusion hubs and 5.6 databanks per 100,000 people.
Behind it were Coventry with figures of 43.1, 10.7 and 2.6 respectively, then York with 38.5, 8.9 and 0.5.
While London had the most databanks with 38 overall, this amounted to only 0.4 per 100,000 people, leaving it in 19th place in the Uswitch table.
The least digitally inclusive location was Wakefiled, with a poverty index of 32.4 and figures of 0.3 per 100,000 for both hubs and databanks. Others with low rankings were Reading with 39.4, 0.6 and 0.0, and Slough with 50.9, 0.6 and 0.0.
Demand for services
Rehan Ali, mobile expert at Switch, commented: “Manchester has emerged as the most digitally inclusive location in the UK. The city has identified the demand for digitally inclusive services for its residents that cannot afford mobile data to access digital services or for those who need support with accessing them, due to lack of online skills.
“Our data shows that while Manchester is considerably smaller than the country’s capital, London has considerably less digital inclusion hubs and databanks per 100,000 people. This shows the vast support and improvement needed for individuals and families around the country to carry out essential tasks that require an internet connection.
“This research highlights the urgent need to address digital poverty and ensure that mobile data is readily available for everyone to access basic government, council and financial systems – regardless of their social class, unemployment status and personal arrangements.”
Publication of the rankings follows the Communications and Digital Committee of the House of Lords’ recent criticism of the Government’s efforts on digital inclusion. It produced a report saying there has been a lack of decisive action in the area, with negative impacts on economic growth, public health and levelling up.
