Exploring the relationship between deep poverty and digital exclusion

We were commissioned by Trussell Trust and Good Things Foundation to review the evidence base on the links between digital exclusion and deep poverty in the UK.

Through an audit of 15 datasets, desk research, and expert interviews, we explored:

• How, if at all, does digital exclusion drive people deeper into poverty, or trap people in deep poverty?
• What role does digital exclusion play in cutting off access to services, support, or opportunities to get on in life?
• What evidence gaps exist, and how might these be filled?
• What do existing trends tell us about how this issue might develop in the future?

Our review found that digital exclusion is clearly related to income poverty and to risk factors of income poverty.

• 2022: Fabian Society analysis of Ofcom data found that households with very low incomes (under £11,500 per year) were twice as likely to be without internet access.
• 2023: Trussell Trust’s Hunger in the UK survey found that having no access at all to the internet was more prevalent amongst food bank users, at 16%, than the general population; 44% of those without any internet access and referred to food banks were severely socially isolated.
• 2024: Minimum Digital Living Standard Survey of Households with Children found strong correlations between households below the publicly-defined benchmark (a holistic household measure of access and skills) and factors widely associated with child poverty.

The report also identified gaps in the existing data. In deep poverty literature, digital exclusion is rarely considered as a dimension of significant analysis. In digital exclusion literature, there is a lack of robust estimates for how many digitally excluded people live in poverty, and in deep poverty.

The report identifies the implications for future research, for policy and for policy makers.