Current status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 18 September 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider introducing a duty on statutory services to identify and respond to digital exclusion among priority family groups, including families raising disabled children.
The Scottish Government recognise the impact of digital exclusion on low income families, including families with a disabled child.
As part of our wider work to tackle child poverty, the Scottish Government has committed more than £870,000 in grant funding, since 2024, to support over 50 locally-delivered digital inclusion projects across Scotland. We also continue to work with Ofcom and delivery partners to raise awareness of affordable connectivity options, including social tariffs.
Our Sustainable Public Services Delivery Plan sets out how services will be designed around the needs of people and communities to be accessible and inclusive. Through our latest Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, Bringing Hope, Building Futures, we have also set out how we will enable whole family support which is responsive to the needs of families and connects them to the services and support they need to thrive.
The Scottish Government has no current plans to introduce a specific statutory duty on services to identify and respond to digital exclusion. However, we are developing a Digital Inclusion Delivery Plan to be published later this year. This will set out clear actions to address the wider barriers that prevent people from participating digitally and how we will work with partners, including local government, to achieve this.