We helped Thomas to significantly reduce his bills through a social tariff and become self-reliant in the digital world.
We supported Thomas through our Reconnect service, which provides support with digital inclusion in person and over the phone, while tackling social isolation. It has been vital to helping people across Edinburgh and the Lothians connect with the world by improving their digital skills as well as getting access to connectivity.
At People Know How, we believe that connectivity is a basic human right, a topic we’re currently campaigning about through Connectivity Now. Throughout our work, we’ve highlighted how data poverty can negatively impact your standard of living and block access to essential resources.
Thomas' story
Thomas is the primary carer for his wife and was receiving a carer’s allowance from the government. Struggling with digital literacy led to Thomas overpaying many bills and left him and his wife without the appropriate knowledge or resources to help.
When Thomas’ wife was admitted into hospital care, he found himself socially isolated and faced increased difficulty managing bills due to his income being reduced, which in turn led to mounting mental health concerns. Thomas turned to his local GP who recommended that he join one of our Reconnect digital groups which provide regular digital support in community spaces.
Attending our groups multiple times a week, Thomas has been able to take actionable steps to reconnect with the world. He started using an Outlook calendar, where he could write down any important appointments, but also set reminders about when to pay bills.
Social tariffs
With data poverty affecting over 300,000 households, we provide impartial information that allows those we support to feel confident in taking steps to connecting to the internet.
In Thomas’ case, he was able to identify a social tariff. Social tariffs are low-cost broadband and mobile data packages available to those who receive certain state benefits. Awareness about them is low, and not all providers currently offer them, which can unfortunately create barriers for some, but we are hoping to influence change to that as part of our campaigning work.
For Thomas, our services and advice helped to reduce his monthly bills from £150 to £20 a month, saving him a grand total of £1,560 a year.
Multiplying the movement
Thanks the support of our Reconnect team at our digital groups in communities across Edinburgh and the Lothians, Thomas has made significant progress. His self-esteem has grown as he is more independent. His days have structure, and he is not worried about forgetting things. This has all culminated in Thomas helping others who regularly attend our digital groups.
Thomas’ story exemplifies the importance of connectivity in people’s lives. As we continue to fight to end data poverty with our Connectivity Now campaign, we’ve been speaking at various events. In September 2022 our Communications & Digital Manager Claudia Baldacchino travelled to the House of Lords as part of the Data Poverty All Party Parliamentary Group, where the group launched a State of the Nation Report aimed at proposing the next steps in tacking data poverty. Social tariffs have the potential to be a milestone in this journey, but a lot of work remains to make them accessible to all who need them.
We’ve taken many steps to help increase awareness of data poverty and how organisations can support those in need through social tariffs, including our guide to supporting people with connectivity, created in collaboration with Good Things Foundation.
There are still many hurdles in eliminating the digital divide, but we’re proud to be working with various organisations, providing regular digital groups in communities across Edinburgh and the Lothians.