opportunity – Education, and wider society
If today’s computer skills and knowledge of the internet can connect people to new and better jobs, open up the opportunity of flexible working from home, cheaper forms of communication and social interaction to community infrastructures and government services, improve access to learning opportunities and provide access to more convenient and often cheaper products and online services.
Digital inequality matters because those without access and the right combination of access, skills, motivation and knowledge are missing out on important areas of the digital world. This doesn’t just impact on individual lives but on children, families, communities, political processes, democracy, public services and the economic and social health of the nation as a whole.
Research shows a clear correlation between digital exclusion and social exclusion.
This means that those children are already at a disadvantage and arguably with the most to gain from the internet are the least likely to be making use of it and become further disadvantaged in society by not using it.
opportunity – manufacturing
These laptops could be manufactured or assembled in the north of England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland therefore bringing some employment opportunities into a town that has been one of these forgotten places that have told they have been left behind. The laptops need to be robust and can have made in the UK stamped on them as procuring laptops from china or the Far East is not acceptable and can feed in to an opportunity of levelling up across the UK.
opportunity – software
These school laptops are really workbooks and would have word, excel, powerpoint and email for communication and have capacity for ms teams and therefore you are not looking at purchasing MacBooks in terms of costs.
Opportunity – Government and the (new) social contract
An opportunity to provide a solution with broadband for all and UK (school) laptops for all state educated children in the UK as a statement with this new social contract. Willing to invest in the future of all children so there is no burning injustices and therefore an opportunity to show another bit of levelling up across the UK. An opportunity to mitigate the digital divide in children’s education and the digitally excluded.
Opportunity – Preventative spend over time
An investment in children (aged 8 – 18) and their education surely makes economic and political sense as for the UK to have any chance of gaining a competitive advantage in the world then it needs a well educated workforce. Spending this money on these two projects would negate the burning injustices as highlighted by certain politicians and close the digital divide across the UK.
Opportunity – a penny on income tax – pledge to the nation
In terms of financial costs then I suggest a penny on income tax which is ring fenced for these two projects to cover the cost of broadband into difficult remote areas and to cover the cost of laptops for all children in the uk regardless of status – the lap top would come in a box with a letter from all of us to inform the recipient of the laptop of the importance of the opportunity and not to waste the opportunity of education and form them to do their best.
Capitalise
To show that united kingdom is serious in levelling up and building into the future, mitigating the digitally excluded and to show we care as a society whatever the cost may be.
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