Evaluation of the Wired Up Communities Programme has revealed that to bridge the divide between the information ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ will need much more than money. The Programme was launched in 2000 with 10 million pounds from the Capital Modernisation Fund to develop a series of pilot projects for connecting people in specified areas to the Internet. The aim was to ensure that communities experiencing social exclusion were not further excluded from engaging with online consumer and government services. Groups such as white working class males in a coalfield area, ethnic minorities, women, homeless, refugees and single parents were included in the projects.The survey found that 75% of people who received the technology, which included PCs and TV set top boxes, actually used it. The remainder said they were not interested or did not have the skills to use it. Only 40% of those who used the technology took advantage of online banking or shopping. One aim of the Programme was to promote economic inclusion and improve the employment prospects of people, but only ten people said it had enabled them to search for employment opportunities and investigate prospective employers.

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A healthy life and life expectancy in the UK depend on economic and environmental factors as well as healthcare provision. An ‘All Government Delivery Plan’ to tackle health inequalities will be published shortly. The plan will set out a joined-up multi-agency response to inequality involving government departments and local councils as well as the NHS.NHS bodies and local strategic partnerships will establish priorities for action and Health Equity Audits will be carried out to establish a framework for systematically developing equity profiles. For example where there is a high incidence of coronary heart disease or infant mortality or where there is a low life expectancy, a Health Equity Audit would consider the health needs of particular groups based on age, gender geography or ethnicity. A framework would be devised taking account of factors such as educational attainment, unemployment or domestic burglary.

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