Donate-a-phone schemes and tech workshops in line for £9.5m Government backing
According to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the money will help connect the 1.6 million people who live entirely offline with the online world.
'It is unacceptable that in 2025, millions of people across the UK simply can't access the vast opportunities that technology and the online world offers,' telecoms minister Sir Chris Bryant said, adding that 'digital inclusion is an essential for modern life and work, not just something that's nice to have'.
Sir Chris also said: 'Making technology widely accessible could be the thing that means a sick patient can speak to a GP remotely, or that helps a young person successfully apply for a job.
'Through this funding we're moving further to empower local leaders and groups nationwide, who are already working tirelessly to get their communities connected and change countless lives for the better.'
The Government launched its Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund as part of the Digital Inclusion Action Plan, which also includes an ambition to pilot a device donation scheme, so re-purposed Whitehall laptops will go to people who need them.
Older and disabled people, low-income households and jobseekers are among the groups more likely to be digitally excluded, according to the plan.
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BBC News
19 minutes ago
- BBC News
More than 11,000 no-fault bailiff evictions in past year, figures show
More than 11,000 households in England have had their homes repossessed by bailiffs following a no-fault eviction process since last year when the Labour government came into its manifesto, Labour promised to "immediately abolish" Section 21, also known as no-fault, evictions which allow landlords to remove tenants without a reason. A bill ending the practice was announced last year and is expected to become law when Parliament returns from its summer charity Shelter said it was "unconscionable" that "renters continue to be marched out of their homes by bailiffs because of an unfair policy that the government said would be scrapped immediately". A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "No one should live in fear of a Section 21 eviction and these new figures show exactly why we will abolish them through our Renters' Rights Bill."We're determined to level the playing field by providing tenants with greater security, rights and protections in their homes and our landmark reforms will be implemented swiftly after the bill becomes law."The Renters' Rights Bill will introduce a new system giving new tenants a 12-month "protected period" where they cannot be evicted if the landlord wants to move in or sell the can still get rid of tenants for other reasons including non-payment of rent or criminal behaviour by the tenants. After the first year, landlords would have to give tenants four months' notice to leave, doubling the current time period, and provide a specific reason for ending a tenancy. In September, Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook had said he hoped the bill would be passed "within the first half or around summer next year". However, when Parliament paused for the summer, the bill had just been passed by the House of Lords, albeit with some changes September, the House of Commons will debate and vote on the changes. Both houses of Parliament will need to approve the bill before it can become law. In the latest figures, released by the Ministry of Justice, the number of repossessions by a county court bailiff following a no fault eviction rose from 10,576 between July 2023 and June 2024 to 11,402 the following represents an increase of 8%, a more modest rise compared to the previous two years which saw jumps of 29% and 60% if a tenant doesn't leave a property by a specified date, a landlord can make a possession claim to the courts, with an accelerated procedure, which could lead to a the year to June, there were 30,729 claims, a 4% decrease on the previous 12-month period. Mairi MacRae, Shelter's director of campaigns and policy, said: "To curb record homelessness and ensure renters can live free from the threat of no-fault eviction, the government must deliver on this commitment, pass the bill, and name an implementation date when Section 21 will finally be scrapped."The charity said around 950 households could be evicted for every month a ban is delayed. The National Residential Landlords Association echoed Shelter's demands for the government to set a date when the changes would come into said a "lack of certainty" had "led to a great deal of confusion and concern amongst landlords".The association also noted a rise of more than two weeks in the length of the court process for recovering properties over the past year.A spokesperson added it was "essential that we have clarity about what support will be given to the courts service to ensure it is able to cope with the added pressures which will be created by these reforms". Earlier this month, the homelessness minister Rushanara Ali was forced to resign after revelations about how she handled a property she was renting out. The i newspaper reported that a former tenant of Ali's had been sent an email in November giving four months' notice the lease would not be said shortly after she and the three other tenants had moved out, the house in east London had been re-listed at a rent £700 a month higher, in a practice that would be banned under the Renters' Rights bill would prevent landlords from re-listing a property for rent, if they have ended a tenancy in order to sell, for six months.
Glasgow Times
40 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
No-fault evictions by bailiffs up 8% in Labour's first year in Government
The party has pledged to end no-fault evictions under its Renters' Rights Bill, which is in the final stages of going through Parliament. Shelter branded it 'unconscionable' that renters 'continue to be marched out of their homes by bailiffs' a year after Labour came to power. There were 11,402 repossessions by county court bailiffs following a Section 21 notice – known as a no-fault eviction – between July last year and June, according to data published by the Ministry of Justice. This was up 8% from 10,576 for the previous 12-month period. There were 2,679 in the three months to June, which was down from 2,931 the previous quarter and down from 2,915 for the same April to June period last year. The latest Government data also showed 30,729 claims had been issued to households under the accelerated procedure in the year to June. Landlords can apply for an accelerated possession order if the tenants have not left by the date specified in a Section 21 notice. The current figure was down 4% from 32,103 for the previous 12-month period. Mairi MacRae, director of campaigns and policy at Shelter, said: 'It is unconscionable that more than a year after the Government came to power, thousands of renters continue to be marched out of their homes by bailiffs because of an unfair policy that the Government said would be scrapped immediately. 'For far too long, tenants' lives have been thrown into turmoil by the rank injustice of no-fault evictions. At the whim of private landlords, thousands of tenants are being left with just two months to find a new home, plunging them into a ruthless rental market and leaving many exposed to the riptide of homelessness. 'The Renters' Rights Bill will overhaul a broken system and usher in a long-overdue era of stability and security for tenants. To curb record homelessness and ensure renters can live free from the threat of no-fault eviction, the Government must deliver on this commitment, pass the Bill, and name an implementation date when Section 21 will finally be scrapped.' Shelter described no-fault evictions as one of the leading causes of homelessness, giving landlords the power to evict tenants without any reason given. Rushanara Ali resigned last week as homelessness minister (David Woolfall/UK Parliament/PA) The charity said its analysis of the latest figures suggested that for every month a ban on no-fault evictions is delayed, around 950 households could be removed from their homes by bailiffs. Echoing the call for an urgent ban, homelessness charity Crisis said many are at risk of homelessness if faced with eviction. The charity's chief executive, Matt Downie, said: 'Despite good intentions from the Westminster Government, thousands of people are still being unjustly evicted from their homes and threatened with – or even forced into – homelessness. 'We know the UK Government has had a packed agenda, but we now need ministers to rebuff efforts to weaken the Renters' Rights Bill and get this new legislation onto the statute book as soon as possible when Parliament returns. Unfreezing housing benefit in the autumn would also ensure that more people in England can afford a safe and stable home.' The Renters' Reform Coalition, said the year-on-year fall in accelerated procedure claims 'blows apart the myth of a 'landlord exodus' and eviction surge caused by the Renters' Rights Bill' and urged the Government to 'press on and abolish section 21 immediately once the Bill is passed'. The new data comes a week after Rushanara Ali resigned her role as homelessness minister following a report that she gave tenants at a property she owned in east London four months' notice to leave before relisting the property with a £700 rent increase within weeks. Ms Ali's house, rented on a fixed-term contract, was put up for sale while the tenants were living there, and it was only relisted as a rental because it had not sold, according to the i newspaper. Such a move would likely be prohibited under the Renters' Rights Bill, which is set to introduce new protections for tenants including banning landlords who evict tenants in order to sell their property from relisting it for rent for six months. In her resignation letter Ms Ali insisted she had 'at all times' followed 'all legal requirements' and taken her responsibilities 'seriously', but added that continuing in her role would be 'a distraction from the ambitious work of the Government' and therefore was stepping down. Responding to Thursday's figures, a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: 'No one should live in fear of a Section 21 eviction and these new figures show exactly why we will abolish them through our Renters' Rights Bill, which is a manifesto commitment and legislative priority for this Government. 'We're determined to level the playing field by providing tenants with greater security, rights and protections in their homes and our landmark reforms will be implemented swiftly after the Bill becomes law.'
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Thames Water says new Abingdon reservoir could cost bill payers up to £7.5bn
Struggling Thames Water has said a new reservoir in Oxfordshire could cost more than three times the original budget, pushing the eventual cost to be covered by water bill payers to as much as £7.5bn. In a blow to government plans for an expansion in the number of reservoirs across south-east England, the heavily indebted utility said a review of the Abingdon project had sent the estimated cost of construction from £2.2bn to between £5.5bn and £7.5bn. Only last year, Thames told the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) that its assessment of likely costs was 'robust'. But the company has now told regulators that further tests, including of the ground and local waterways, had shown the final bill would be more than twice, and possibly three times, the current forecast. If the reservoir goes ahead, customers will pick up the tab. About half the costs are due to be recovered from Thames Water's 16 million customers across London and the south-east, with Affinity Water and Southern Water customers sharing the rest. Thames customers already face a 35% increase in bills over the next five years under a settlement by the sector regulator Ofwat, while those with Affinity face a 26% lift and with Southern the rise is 53%. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has pledged to build nine major reservoirs – the country's first in 30 years – in her determination to take on 'the blockers' opposing construction projects and renew the UK's ageing infrastructure. In an article published in the Guardian this week, she said the government wanted to 'break down the planning system to get Britain building'. Ministers have backed the scheme, which will be capable of holding 150bn litres of water in an area the size of Gatwick airport, after assessments found Thames will need to find an extra 1bn litres of water every day by 2050. Regulators have accepted that Thames Water would be unable to reduce leaks or redirect watercourses to mitigate this extra usage as part of a 50-year plan. Last year, the Abingdon reservoir was designated as a nationally significant infrastructure project and fast-tracked through planning approval without a public inquiry. The move prompted local campaigners to challenge the decision in the high court, but the appeal was rejected last month. Derek Stork, the chair of the Group Against Reservoir Development, said Thames must have known 10 months ago when it responded to a Defra request for more financial details that its costs had risen steeply. Stork, a retired former head of technology at the Atomic Energy Authority, said Thames must also have been informed of the rising costs when it defended the civil action earlier this summer brought by local residents and the countryside charity CPRE. 'We predicted this would happen, but even I am astonished by the increase to £7.5bn,' he said. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The reservoir has proved controversial after Thames Water said it would need to build walls up to 25 metres high to contain the mass of water inside. Local streams that run across the land will also need to be redirected close to homes in nearby villages, increasing the likelihood of local flooding, it is claimed. Most reservoirs are built in natural valleys or on substantial areas of clay, which are in short supply in the south-east of England. Thames Water said the reservoir remained a priority project despite the increase in costs. Nevil Muncaster, the firm's strategic water resources director, said: ''[Today] we published our Gate Three report for our proposed reservoir in Oxfordshire, in line with the regulatory process that we are following for its design and development. 'The report marks a critical milestone in our development of the reservoir. It reflects the extensive work we have done to evolve our proposed design and better understand what it will take to deliver it. 'Working through the development process, we are applying lessons from other major projects in the UK, wherever we are able. This has included providing an update on what we expect the reservoir to cost as early as possible and well before construction, when it becomes difficult to adapt to revisions. 'The reservoir is a critical piece of infrastructure for meeting future water demand in the south-east and remains one of the preferred options in our water resource management plan which sets out our strategy to protect water supply for the next 50 years and beyond.'' Thames has submitted the review amid a desperate struggle to avoid collapse. It has amassed a £20bn debt pile and a deal with private equity firm KKR to inject £4bn of funds to keep the company afloat was abandoned in June. The company's creditors have put forward a rescue plan contingent on regulators agreeing to waive hundreds of millions of pounds in sewage pollution fines. This week it emerged that Steve Reed, the environment secretary, has appointed City insolvency advisers to prepare for the company's potential collapse into a special administration regime (SAR) – a form of temporary nationalisation. It was also reported that if that situation arises, the Hong Kong infrastructure company CKI is a frontline contender to buy the company out of an SAR.
