Background

Who we are, where we came from, what we do and why we do it...

History

UK online centres were set up in 2000 with money from the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) Capital Modernisation Fund and the New Opportunities Fund. In April 2003 Ufi, the organisation behind learndirect, was given responsibility by the DfES for the administration and development of UK online centres.

The UK online centre network is now managed by the UK online centres team at Ufi, which is working to develop a sustainable, valuable network. Originally set up to provide public access to computers, the role of centres has evolved and they now play a strong role in exploiting ICT to develop skills and confidence, achieve social inclusion and create stronger communities.

Why do we need UK online centres?

The proportion of the population accessing the internet has reached a plateau since 2004

39% of people in the UK are still not online

1 in 12 households don’t have access to a computer, a mobile phone or a digital television

More than 1,000,000 households with children have no internet access

75% of socially excluded people are also digitally excluded

79% of those on means tested benefits lack ICT skills

64% of people living in social housing don’t use the internet

Although 90% of public services are online, approximately 2/3 of the population never use them

Less than 1/3 of those with three or more ‘social’ reasons to contact government are able to do so online

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In this section

Latest news:

Web-novices get their own guide to online public services - Whether you’re trying to find out when your bins are being collected or renewing your tax disc, looking up your local school or checking your pension entitlements, you could be saving time and hassle by doing it all online.

Digital Inclusion Minister takes 1st Byte of UK online centres in Sheerness - Sheerness played host to new Minister for Digital Inclusion, Paul Murphy MP, who visited the town this morning on his first ever trip to a UK online centre.

National Awards for stars of Digital Inclusion - The stars of digital inclusion were celebrated yesterday at a special ceremony in London.

The second annual Get online day is taking place this year on 24 October 2008, and it’s another chance for families to get into UK online centres and onto the internet…

The UK online centres Awards took place over the summer. Find out more about the winners from the Awards programme, or get a flavour of the day by watching the Awards film.