§ Miss Geraldine SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what Government help is available to provide access to the internet for poorer individuals. [127631]
§ Mr. WillsI have been asked to reply.
We are taking forward a range of measures to help those on low incomes and benefits to access the internet. Excellent progress is being made in improving computer:pupil ratios to ensure that, in future, school leavers are able to use and benefit from new technologies.
We are providing £252 million to fund around 700 ICT learning centres in England. These centres are targeted within the 2,000 most deprived local authority wards, and rural areas with significant transport and deprivation problems. They will support disadvantaged client groups with low or no ICT skills.
50,000 additional free computer training courses will be available for jobless people across the country. We are also establishing a pilot scheme to wire up all the homes in some of our most deprived communities. And we are introducing the "Computers within Reach" pilot scheme to enable around 100,000 low-income learners and families to acquire reconditioned computers. We will continue to work with partners and the private sector to address the issue of closing the digital divide.