Currently Reading
Broadband For All Could Save Government 900m
If everyone in the UK who currently doesn’t have internet access used an online government service just once it could save a staggering £900m of public money, a report from UK Online Centres has claimed.
The figures, presented at the National Digital Inclusion Conference on Wednesday, were put forward in support of the government’s recent plans to put £300m into getting more people online.
Stephen Timms MP, the Minister for Digital Britain, also defended the government’s plans to charge households with fixed phone lines50p per month to help fund super-fast broadband.
Speaking at the event in London, Timms said that the Broadband Delivery UK group will be overseeing the introduction of the tariff as part of its monitoring of the £1bn investment being made into getting more people online and access to a minimum of 2Mbps by the 2012.
“The levy means the group can focus more on getting access into rural areas and for people with low incomes, which will go a long way in better supporting businesses and the economies in towns and cities,” Timms said.
He also said that not everyone would be liable to pay the tax, confirming that low-income families and those on a social phone tariff would be exempt.
To qualify for existing social phone line tariffs you must be on Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or Guaranteed Pensions Credit.
Information about the tariffs is being handed out in Jobcentres but people can contact their telephone service provider to see if they offer the tariff. BT does with its BT Basic tariff.
MP Jim Knight announced the upcoming merger of the Jobcentre website with government portal Directgov, which is expected to happen by the end of the year.
The Jobcentre is also launching an iPhone and Android system app to help improve the job search market and making applying for Jobseeker’s Allowance online more accessible.
Knight said: “The apps are to cater for the new wave of customers that are unemployed because of the recession. One hundred thousand online JSA applications were made last year and the apps are being developed to increase this reach.”
No related posts.
