Tower Hamlets is set to strengthen its commitment to digital inclusion with a new action plan designed to bridge the digital divide. The Tower Hamlets Digital Inclusion Action Plan for 2025-2028 was discussed at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, 26 November 2025.

The plan aims to ensure that all residents have the tools and skills they need to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from a digital world, according to Councillor Bodrul Choudhury, Cabinet Member for Equalities and Social Inclusion.

The action plan builds upon the previous Digital Inclusion Action Plan for 2021-2024, which saw a decrease of around 6,000 in the number of digitally excluded residents in Tower Hamlets. This is a continuation of a long-term trend; for example, in 2016, 8% of residents did not have internet access. However, the report pack noted that those most likely to be excluded remained the same: people with disabilities, those aged 55+, and those not working.

The new plan includes specific commitments from public-facing teams to embed digital inclusion in their work. These commitments aim to provide strategic oversight, accountability, and opportunities for cross-departmental collaboration.

Key actions outlined in the Digital Inclusion Action Plan 2025-28 include:

  • Exploring opportunities to improve access to devices, such as recycling and device lending.
  • Delivering a communications campaign to increase the use of social tariffs and free broadband.
  • Supporting Community Connections to expand a school laptop gifting project.
  • Promoting Good Things Foundation's funding opportunities to the voluntary and community sector.
  • Developing a corporate volunteering model with the East London Business Alliance (ELBA) to increase digital buddy capacity.
  • Redesigning and optimising key online services to ensure they are user-friendly.
  • Working with public-facing teams to embed digital inclusion considerations at key touchpoints.

The report pack included a review of the draft action plan from digital consultants FarrPoint, who noted that digital exclusion remained a major challenge and that it was tied to socio-economic factors. To address this, the Digital Inclusion Action Plan 2025-28 aims to deliver a targeted communications campaign to increase uptake of social tariffs and free broadband for council residents to assist those disproportionally excluded, including older people, those with disabilities, and residents not working or on low incomes.

FarrPoint's review recommended prioritising targeted digital inclusion initiatives, broadening training, strengthening data collection, and fostering strategic partnerships.

The report pack also contained a summary of resident engagement, which found that the most significant barriers to getting online were a lack of digital skills and a lack of help and support.