§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress his Department has made, pursuant to the Better Government for Older People programme to provide access for older people to computer training and Internet services in(a) Staffordshire and (b) England. [118395]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneyI have been asked to reply.
The Better Government for Older People programme's pilot phase has just come to an end. The 28 local authority-led pilot projects have addressed a very wide range of issues affecting older people, including access to computers and the Internet. A report evaluating the programme and making a number of recommendations for future action is expected to be published in June. The Government hope to respond by the end of the year.
Staffordshire is not one of the 28 pilot areas but the report will make recommendations applicable to the whole of the UK. The county council has joined the Better Government for Older People Network, the forum in 164W which the pilot projects' experience is shared and discussed with other local authorities, voluntary organisations and older people and which offers access to a programme of seminars, conferences and support. The Minister of State, Department of Social Security, my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker), who chairs the Inter-Ministerial Group on Older People, spoke at a BGOP Network event on New Technology in Public Services on 10 April. ICL sponsors the Network and projects in Bolton, Newcastle, Harrow, Devon, Middlesbrough and Lanarkshire.