Council recognised for work to help people get online
Posted on Wednesday 30th March 2022
Newport City Council has been granted Digital Inclusion Charter Accreditation by Digital Communities Wales.
The Digital Inclusion Charter is for organisations in Wales which are promoting basic digital skills and helping people get online.
It includes six pledges and is a way for organisations to show their commitment to helping digitally excluded people enjoy the benefits of being online – particularly older people, people with disabilities, unemployed people, social housing tenants, families in poverty and ethnic minority communities.
A digital action plan was submitted by the council earlier this year for assessment, which, upon review, was praised for both the level of ambition and commitment to digital inclusion and the variety of work undertaken to date and planned for the future.
The council has also become the first local authority in Wales who has signed up to Digital Communities Wales’ revised Digital Inclusion Charter and gone on to gain Charter Accreditation.
It’s estimated that the level of digital exclusion in Wales is higher than in the UK, with as many as 7 per cent of the population, or 180,000 people, not using the internet.
The council will now continue to work with DCW (Digital Communities Wales) to develop the ambitions outlined in its action plan.
The accreditation runs until January 2024.