According to the Good Things Foundation having poor digital skills can affect health outcomes, loneliness, isolation, job and education prospects, as well as increasing financial exclusion, poverty and disengagement as more and more services move online. Even more worrying is that those most likely to experience digital inequality are those already disadvantaged by age, education or employment (The digital divide - Good Things Foundation).

All told the perils of being digitally excluded could be as serious as any other social issue that the housing sector has tried to use its resources to tackle.

You may find yourself thinking, but what can I do? As housing providers rooted in the community, we can help our tenants participate in the ever more digital world, but first we need to understand the barriers for our tenants, understand which of these can be overcome, and then design our policies and strategies around this.

As Committee/Board members, it is essential that issues of digital connectivity and inclusion are on our radar, that we are challenging our organisations to do more, and ensuring that our tenants and customers can engage fully and confidently both with our own digital services and the wider digital world.

The importance of digital inclusion in your area takes place on Tuesday 20th June.

Learn how you can improve digital inclusion in your area by clicking here.