There are a number of ways of defining poverty, no single definition is recognised universally. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2022) suggests there are three levels of poverty:
- Income below the minimum income standard: people get by day-to-day, but are under pressure and find it difficult to manage unexpected costs
- Not enough income: individuals fall significantly short of a reasonable standard of living, with a high possibility they will be unable to meet needs
- Destitution: people cannot afford to eat, keep clean and stay warm and dry.
In the UK, poverty affects millions of people. They may be unable to heat their home, pay their rent or buy the essentials for their children. It can result in marginalisation and discrimination as a result of their financial circumstances, depriving people of the chance to participate fully in society.
The causes of poverty are multifaceted, reducing a person's resources or increasing their needs along with the costs of meeting them. Some causes can also be consequences, creating a vicious cycle that is difficult to get out of.
Poverty can be defined in other ways besides having a low household income. Another approach used considers if a household is materially deprived, meaning that they lack the ability to access key goods or services (House of Commons Library, 2021). Data poverty is defined by Lucas et al (2020) as ‘Individuals, households or communities who cannot afford sufficient, private and secure mobile or broadband data to meet their essential needs’.
Data poverty is a societal concern, impacting people all over the nation. Nearly every routine aspect of everyday life is now fed through the internet. This makes the question of who has or does not have digital access very important for society.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to reshape the way in which we work, keep in touch, go to school, shop for essentials and access health care and health information, including the NHS app. During the pandemic a number of public services were moved online. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has said that the app will be a future ‘front door’ for interacting with the NHS (Department of Health and Social Care, 2022). However, a digital-first policy such as this requires an internet connection.
It has never been more important to bridge the digital divide for those who remain off-line. Ofcom (2022) estimates there are around two million households that experience affordability issues with either their fixed broadband and/or smartphone. Unaffordability of data, the digital divide, is exacerbating inequality. It is a real problem—if an individual or their household cannot afford an adequate amount of data for their needs then they will be increasingly excluded from opportunities.
Accessing secure mobile or broadband data is not just essential for accessing public services, it is also important to ensure connections are maintained between friends and family. Access to the internet is now essential as many vital services are online and those who are unable to access enough data for their needs are data poor.
It is acknowledged that there are multiple challenges around providing data and understanding people's data needs. The causes of data poverty are diverse and as such the solutions must be too. Sustainable solutions have to be developed, connecting with people with lived experience to end data poverty and to support those experiencing it to benefit from the numerous digital opportunities that are available and are being continually updated and developed. Efforts need to be made to ensure that people can afford to access a service at a fair price and not become marginalised and get left behind.