Digital Inclusion Report 2025
Yesterday, Councillor John Hacking Executive Member for Skills, Employment and Leisure, and I presented Digital Inclusion report to the Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee.
Digital Exclusion affects tens of thousands of Manchester’s residents. Digital exclusion is where a person doesn’t have one or more of the following –
- access to the Internet
- skills/confidence to use the Internet
- motivation to use the Internet.
People who are digitally excluded are also likely to suffer from other social exclusion and are disproportionately affected by not being online.
This report updates the Council’s digital inclusion work, since March 2024 including the implementation of the Digital Inclusion Action Plan.
You can read the full report below here:
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Find out more about the library’s Let’s Get Digital offer below.
Manchester Libraries are helping to foster digitally confident communities!
We offer free sims with internet access
We have helped 4,000 people get online by providing them with free sims loaded with internet data. If you need help getting online, or using your phone to do the things you need to do, then pop into a library and ask for a free sim with internet access.
These sims have been donated by ISPs such as Vodafone, Three and O2 to become part of the National Databank organised by Good Things Foundation and can give you at least 6 months of free internet access.
Digital Drop Ins
Want to improve your digital skills?
Visit our directory to find local digital skills workshops which can help you apply for jobs, work on your CV, fill in forms online and more. Many of these are hosted in our libraries by dedicated staff.
Just pop in your postcode and find a local drop-in session!
Free Wi-Fi and Computer Access
Libraries will continue to support with free Wi-Fi and computer access!
If you need help getting onto the computers, or using the internet, please just ask a member of staff for help.
The digital inclusion team also support community groups to help digitally excluded residents to become confident online users – details of this are contained within the report.
Neil MacInnes OBE
Head of Libraries, Galleries and Culture
Neil MacInnes OBE
Head of Libraries, Galleries and Culture
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Watch the Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee 2025 here:
(Fast forward to 1’12 for Digital Inclusion)
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