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Making sure no-one get鈥檚 left behind

The government鈥檚 digital by default strategy is all about making central government digital services so good that everyone who can use them, will choose to do so.

But there will always be some people who cannot, for all sorts of reasons, use digital services. The government鈥檚 approach to assisted digital is designed to help those people use the same services in a different way.

It鈥檚 thought that about 20% of the population will need some sort of assistance one way or another. Some might need regular, long-term help, such as elderly people or those with specific disabilities; others might only need it for a short spell, perhaps while they are temporarily offline.

In either case, government has a duty to ensure everyone can access digital services. That鈥檚 where assisted digital comes in.

鈥淕overnment is quite unique in that it has to provide services to everyone, it can鈥檛 pick and choose its customers,鈥� says John Ploughman, the Digital Communication Manager at the Driving Standards Agency (DSA). 鈥淎ssisted digital is about making sure that nobody gets left behind, nobody鈥檚 excluded.鈥�

Government can鈥檛 pick and choose its customers

The DSA is forging a path for digital services, and has already begun the transition to digital by default. The online system for booking practical driving tests is already in use by most learner drivers. But not all. If someone can鈥檛 use the online booking system, their driving instructor or parent can use it on their behalf, and there鈥檚 a phone line option for anyone who can鈥檛 get help with the online version.

What鈥檚 important is that behind the scenes, it鈥檚 still the same digital service for everyone. Assisted digital means providing help with using the digital service, not building a separate non-digital service on top.

Myrtle Lloyd, Network Services Director at the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), says recent changes there have concentrated on 鈥済ently nudging鈥� those who can use new online services to use them. Some benefit claimants who call DWP phone lines are made aware of the advantages of online claiming - eg not constrained by telephone opening times and in some cases faster processing times.

鈥淲hat we鈥檝e found is that with a little support from our telephone staff, many people are much happier and more inclined to go online next time鈥� she says. That move towards digital by the majority frees up time for over-the-phone help for the people who need it most.

Helen Milner is Chief Executive of Online Centres Foundation, which provides public access to computers for everyone. Assisted digital will be vital for helping people engage with government services when they need to, she says.

鈥淎s more government services are online, of course we want as many people as possible to use them that way,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut for those who can鈥檛, we can provide some kind of help.鈥�

Providing that backup is essential for making the wider digital by default strategy work, says Ian Trenholm, Chief Operating Officer at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which like the DSA is leading the way towards digital by default.

Without what he calls a 鈥渃redible鈥� plan for assisted digital, many people would end up excluded from newly digital government services; he says. 鈥淭hat would be unacceptable.鈥�

鈥淎ssisted digital is absolutely core to the digital by default strategy,鈥� he says. 鈥淔or most people, digital services will be perfectly normal, they鈥檒l use them as they are. But a small minority won鈥檛 be able to. They will need some sort of support, but that doesn鈥檛 necessarily have to come directly from government, others have a big part to play as well.鈥�

Ian Trenholm is Chief Operating Officer, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Helen Milner is Chief Executive, Online Centres Foundation.

Rebecca Kemp is Policy Team Leader, Government Digital Service.

John Ploughman is Digital Communication Manager, Driving Standards Agency.