Behind digital walls: how people are being locked out of essential services
Behind digital walls: how people are being locked out of essential services
When digital services are done well, they’re a win-win for people and services. At their best, digital services can be quicker, easier and more convenient.
But our research shows that digitalisation is also causing harm. As essential services move to digital-first or online-only access, people are being locked out of critical services and support. We’re seeing people struggle to access energy, water, broadband and mobile bills, Universal Credit, Local Authority housing services and more.
Our research has identified 3 mechanisms of harm across essential services that are contributing to reduced access:
Two-tier support: The erosion of phone, face-to-face and paper-based channels has led to digitally excluded individuals getting slower and less reliable support.
Channel lock: People are getting locked into using either online or offline services, when they need to be able to switch between them.
Poor digital design: High levels of friction and poor design are causing people to struggle accessing the vital support they need, and sometimes give up.
Frontline digital support remains a critical part of the solution to digital exclusion. Citizens Advice has nearly 40 digital support services across England, delivering dedicated support to thousands of people to help address digital exclusion.
We outline the impact of this support in our recent report “What works: Lessons from the frontline of digital support & advice services.” We call on the UK government to commit to long-term, sustainable funding for digital support services.
But digital support is only part of the solution. We also need action from those designing and delivering essential services.
When online channels aren’t designed well, even digitally confident users may struggle to access services. Essential service providers need to address the issues that are leaving people locked out of services.
We’re calling for three principles of change:
The right to talk to a human: People should always be able to get through and talk to a human via phone or in person. And they should be able to do so in a reasonable amount of time, if and when they need to.
The right to move between online and offline support: People’s lives are always changing and the design of essential services should reflect this. Essential services should be designed to allow seamless channel swaps, between digital and non-digital support.
The right to decent digital services: People deserve better than looping chatbots and glitchy webforms. They should be able to access good enough digital services, so that they don’t lose patience and give up.
Our next steps are to bring stakeholders together to discuss what these principles will mean in practice. We see that this is a shared problem that needs a shared solution, across governments, industry, civil society and local communities. We want to bring stakeholders together to collectively make change happen.